(C.1400–1475). Florentine Painter
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Umar I (Umar ibn al-Khattab) (c.581–644). Second caliph of Islam 634–44. Born in Medina, he succeeded *Abu-Bakr, and maintained the discipline and control of his armies as they advanced to the conquest of U Syria, Mesopotamia (Iraq) and Egypt. He was the first caliph to be known as Commander of the Faithful. Uccello, Paolo (c.1400–1475). Florentine painter. His descendant Umar II (Umar ibn ‘abd al-Aziz) He worked as a boy in *Ghiberti’s studio, and was (682–720), ninth Umayyad caliph 717–20, was born later in Venice and Padua as well as Florence. In most in Aleppo and ruled from Damascus. He imposed the of his paintings he is preoccupied with problems of ‘ordinances of Umar’ by which restrictions (e.g. of perspective which he worked out by mathematical dress) were placed upon Jews and Christians. means. This is evident in the well-known fresco Umayyad (Omayyad). Arab-Muslim dynasty, The Deluge done for S. Maria Novella in Florence. established by *Mu’āwiyah I during the civil wars He won contemporary fame for three panels of the that followed the death of *Uthman, and which Battle of San Romano, painted for the Medici palace in dominated Islam 661–750, ruling from Damascus, Florence, but now dispersed. He was one of the first to until overthrown by the Abbasids. An independent draw plants and birds from nature, a sign of the spirit Umayyad dynasty ruled in Spain 756–1031. of innovation that marked the Early Renaissance. Pope-Hennessy, J., Paolo Uccello. 2nd ed. 1969. Umberto I (Humbert) (1844–1900). King of Italy 1878–1900. Son and successor of *Vittorio Emanuele Uchida, Dame Mitsuko (1948– ). Japanese-British II, he was poorly educated, hugely moustached pianist, born near Tokyo. Trained in Vienna, she and largely kept out of the affairs of government. became a great specialist in *Mozart,*Beethoven, and His reign included the war with Ethiopia, ending *Schubert. She also toured, recorded extensively and with a disastrous defeat at Adowa (1896). Having taught. escaped several earlier attempts on his life he was assassinated at Monza by Gaetano Bresci, an Italian Udall, Nicholas (1505–1556). English playwright anarchist from New Jersey. and scholar. He was headmaster of Eton from 1534 until dismissed and imprisoned for misconduct Umberto II (Umberto Nicola Tommaso Giovanni (1541). He translated a number of classical and Maria di Savoia) (1904–1983). King of Italy 1946. scholarly works but is remembered as the author Son of *Vittorio Emanuele III and grandson of of the earliest extant English comedy, Ralph Roister *Umberto I, he married (1930) Princess Marie José, Doister (c.1553), inspired by *Plautus and *Terence a sister of King *Leopold III of the Belgians. He and written in doggerel verse. became King after his father’s abdication in May 1946, but in a referendum held in June a majority Ulanova, Galina Sergeyevna (1910–1998). Russian voted for a republic. Umberto left Italy ‘temporarily’ ballerina, born in St Petersburg. Her father was an but in 1947 a ban was placed on his return or that of artist, her mother a dancer. Prima ballerina assoluta in his descendants. He died in Geneva. her time, she danced with the Kirov Ballet 1928–45 and the Bolshoi 1945–63, was held up as an icon U Nu see Nu, U by the Soviet regime and highly decorated but not allowed to travel until 1956 when she led a visit to Unaipon (né Ngunaitponi), David (1872–1967). London. *Prokofiev wroteRomeo and Juliet for her. Australian inventor, writer and preacher, born in After 1963 she taught at the Bolshoi. Point McLeay. From the Portaulun branch of the Ngarrindjeri people, he became a bootmaker and, Ulbricht, Walter (1893–1973). German politician. from 1924, was the first indigenous author to be He joined the Communist Party in 1919 and was published, with books on Aboriginal legends. He a member of the Reichstag 1928–33. On *Hitler’s invented a sheep shearing tool that applied rotary accession he went to Moscow, but after the collapse of motion, but despite being widely adopted he Germany in World War II he reappeared in Berlin and received no royalties. He is commemorated on the was Russia’s principal agent in East Germany. In 1946 $50 banknote. he became first Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party formed by the merger of the Communists and Social Unamuno y Jugo, Miguel de (1864–1936). Democrats. On the formation (1949) of the German Spanish-Basque philosopher and writer, born in Democratic Republic (East Germany), Ulbricht was Bilbao. He became professor of Greek language and one of the three deputy premiers, but virtual ruler literature at the University of Salamanca 1891–1901 of the country. In 1960 when the presidency was and rector 1901–14, 1915–24, 1931–36, being abolished on the death of Wilhelm Pieck, Ulbricht removed three times for his political stances—in became Chairman of the Council of State. He retired favour of the Allies in World War I, against *Primo de in 1971. Rivera’s dictatorship and against *Franco’s extremism. A pioneer existentialist, in the sense that he tilted Keller, J. W., Germany, The Wall and Berlin. 1964. 905 Dictionary of World Biography against dogmatism and hypocrisy, he was a modern Urban VI (Bartholomeus Prignanus) (1318–1389). Don Quixote, the hero or anti-hero whom he came Pope 1378–89. In the year of his election the to regard as the symbol of the nobility and tragedy College of Cardinals, claiming that they had chosen of man (see Life of Don Quixote and Sancho, 1905). Urban under pressure from the Roman mob, chose Yet even such a generalisation was alien to him as he *Clement VII. The latter went to Avignon, where he propounded no general system and was above all an was recognised by France and her political associates, analyst and critic. His longing for eternal life and his while Urban remained at Rome. So began the Great realisation that reason and scientific thought stand as Schism (1378–1417), with two rival popes competing bars to the acceptance of immortality are the theme for the allegiance of Christendom. and substance of The Tragic Sense of Life (1913) and other of his numerous poems, essays and novels. Urban VIII (Maffeo Barberini) (1568–1644). Pope His passionate love of Spain was shown not only in 1623–44. As papal envoy to France he showed his his books but in his political opinions and acts. He diplomatic ability and was created cardinal in 1606. became known outside Spain for his opposition to As Pope he was led by fear of the Habsburgs to the dictator *Primo de Rivera and the monarchy. He support *Richelieu and the German Protestants in the returned triumphantly from exile when the republic Thirty Years’ War. He befriended writers and scholars was formed but was soon as disillusioned with the and only reluctantly sanctioned proceedings against new Socialist regime as with the old, though he *Galileo. The Barberini, the Florentine merchant strongly protested against the Falangist state foreign family to which he belonged, rose to princely intervention in the Civil War. prominence with his support. Undset, Sigrid (1882–1949). Norwegian novelist. Urey, Harold Clayton (1893–1981). American She was the daughter of a well-known antiquary who chemist, born in Montana. He studied in California inspired her fascination with medieval Norway, the and in Copenhagen with *Bohr. He discovered (1931) setting of several of her best novels culminating with deuterium, the heavy isotope of hydrogen, and this Kristin Lavransdatter (3 volumes, 1920–22) and Olav led almost at once to the commercial production of Audunssön (1925–27) for which she was awarded heavy water. He subsequently worked out methods the Nobel Prize for Literature (1928). Treating the for separating the heavy isotopes of carbon, oxygen, characters and themes with modern realism she nitrogen and sulphur. He won the Nobel Prize for brought a remarkable sense of conviction to her Chemistry in 1934. He was professor of chemistry picture of life in 14th-century Norway. Of her many at Colombia 1934–45 and Chicago 1945–58, then contemporary novels, the tragedy Jenny (1911) is continued research at La Jolla, California. His work in among the best known. separating isotopes was essential in the development of the atomic and hydrogen bombs. In 1953, with Updike, John Hoyer (1932–2009). American Stanley *Miller, he explained the creation of amino novelist and critic, born in Pennsylvania. Educated acids. Urey campaigned for an international ban on at Harvard and Oxford, he was a staff writer (1955– atomic weapons, wrote extensively on geochemistry 57) on the New Yorker, which published many of and the development of the solar system, and his poems, short stories and essays. His novels witty consulted for NASA. and inventive, explore human tensions arising from conflicts of flesh v. spirit, freedom v. responsibility Usama (Osama) bin Laden see Laden, Osama bin in a rapidly changing world of family life in the Uspensky, Gleb Ivanovich (1840–1902). Russian United States. His novels include Rabbit, Run (1960), novelist. His themes are generally concerned with The Centaur (1963), Couples (1968), Bech: A Book the impact of industrialisation on peasant life (1970), Rabbit Redux (1971), A Month of Sundays treated realistically as in The Power of the Soil (1882). (1975), Marry Me (1976), The Coup (1979), The Depressed by social conditions, he committed suicide. Witches of Eastwick (also filmed, 1984), Roger’s Version (1986), Rabbit at Rest (1990) and Memories of the Ussher (or Usher), James (1581–1656). Irish prelate Ford Administration (1992). He won Pulitzer Prizes and scholar.