CALIGULA, the Roman emperor, A.D. 37-41, was the son of Germanicus and Agrippina, and was born A.D. 12. He began his reign with every appearance of becoming the real father of the people; but eight months after he assumed the purple, he was seized with a fever, which probably weakened his mental faculties; for his disposition totally changed, and he became a sanguinary and licentious tyrant. After having murdered many of his subjects with his own hand, and caused others to be put to death without trial, he was assassinated by a tribe of the people as he was leaving the amphitheatre. See ROMAN HISTORY.