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The History Channel - Encyclopedia Category: History and Culture > History Date & country: 02/12/2007, UK Words: 25833

United Provinces of Central America
Political union 1823-38 established by the Central American states of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The union followed the break-up of the Spanish empire and was...

United Reformed Church
Christian church with a strongly ecumenical outlook formed in Britain in 1972 by the union of the Congregational Church in England and Wales and the Presbyterian Church of England. The Reformed...

United States architecture
Little survives of early indigenous American architecture, although the early settlers in each region recorded the house and village styles of the local Indians. The most notable prehistoric remains...

United States art
Painting and sculpture in the USA from colonial times to the present. Initially strongly influenced by European art, by the 19th century US artists were cultivating an American artistic heritage...

United States literature
Early US literature falls into two distinct periods:colonial writing of the 1600s-1770s, largely dominated by the Puritans, and post-Revolutionary...

United States of America
Country in North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, bounded north by Canada and south by Mexico, and including the outlying states...

unities, the
Rules designed to regulate the structure of classical drama. There were three unities: the unity of time restricted the duration of events to 24 hours; the unity of action specified the use of just...

universal
In philosophy, a property that is instantiated by all the individual things of a specific class: for example, all red things instantiate `redness`. Many philosophical debates have centred on the...

universal suffrage
The right of all adult citizens to vote at public elections, especially for the members of a legislative body or parliament. History of universal suffrage In England and Wales, the House of Commons...

Unknown Soldier
Unidentified dead soldier, for whom a tomb is erected as a memorial to other unidentified soldiers killed in war. In Britain, the practice began in World War I; the British Unknown Soldier was...

Unkulunkulu
In the traditional beliefs of the Zulus of southern Africa, the primordial being who brought them from the reed bed where they were created, and determined their mortality. ...

unlimited liability
Full responsibility of an individual or business organization for paying any debts incurred in a business activity. This contrasts with...

Uno, Sosuke
(1922-1998) Japanese conservative politician, member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). He held various cabinet posts from 1976, and was designated prime minister in June 1989 in an attempt to restore the...

Unruh, Fritz von
(1885-1970) German dramatist, poet, and novelist. His play Offiziere/Officers 1910 was heavily critical of the tradition of German militarism and nationalism. The dramatic poem Vor der Entscheidung/Before the...

Unruh, Jesse M(arvin)
(1922-1987) US public official. As a Democratic Californian assemblyman (1951-69), he increased the assembly's power and professionalism, becoming speaker in 1961. A shrewd politician, he managed Pat Brown's...

Unsworth, Barry Foster
(1930) English novelist. Frequently reflecting on historical themes, his books are often set in locations which mirror his own wanderings, notably Turkey, Greece, and Italy. He was awarded the Booker Prize...

untouchable
Member of the lowest Indian caste, formerly forbidden to be touched by members of the other castes. ...

Unwin, Raymond
(1863-1940) English architect and leading town planner of his time. He put the garden city ideals of Ebenezer Howard into practice, overseeing Letchworth, Hertfordshire (begun 1903), Hampstead Garden Suburb,...

Unwin, Stanley
(1884-1968) English publisher. An international figure in publishing, he became chairman of the firm of George Allen and Unwin, founded in 1914, and was president of the Publishers Association of Great Britain...

Upanayana
In Hinduism, the tenth samskara, or ceremony to mark stages in the life of a Hindu. It is a religious ceremony undertaken by Hindu boys of the three highest castes. The ceremony usually takes place...

Upanishad
One of a collection of Hindu sacred treatises, written in Sanskrit, connected with the Vedas but composed later, about 800-200 BC. Metaphysical and ethical, their doctrine equated the atman (self)...

Updike, Daniel Berkeley
(1860-1941) US printer and scholar. In 1893 he founded Merrymount Press, which printed finely made books, mostly for other publishers, and greatly influenced the development of the graphic arts. A scholar of...

Updike, John Hoyer
(1932) US writer. Associated with the New Yorker magazine from 1955, he soon established a reputation for polished prose, poetry, and criticism. His novels include The Poorhouse Fair (1959), The Centaur...

Upington
Town in Transvaal, South Africa, 800 km/500 mi west of Pretoria. In November 1985 it was the scene of a demonstration against high rents that resulted in the death of a police officer and the...

Upjohn, Richard
(1802-1878) US architect, of English origin. His first major building and the one by which he is best remembered was Trinity Church, New York (1839-46), which definitively linked the Protestant Episcopal...

Uposatha
Theravada Buddhist holy day that occurs on every full and dark moon. The Buddhist laity may adopt the Ten Moral Precepts for the day and people will visit their nearest monastery. Ordained...

Uppark
Late 17th-century house in West Sussex, England, 8 km/5 mi south of Petersfield. Uppark was given to the National Trust in 1954 and retains much of the original decorations and furnishings,...

Uppdal, Kristofer
(1878-1961) Norwegian novelist and poet. His epic novel cycle Dansen gjenom skuggeheimen/Dance through a Shadowy Land 1911-24, in ten volumes, is a study of the emergence of the industrial working class, to...

Upshur, Abel Parker
(1791-1844) US legislator and jurist. A Virginia Supreme Court judge (1826-41) he held pro-slavery, states' rights views. He was secretary of the navy (1841-43) and secretary of state (1843-44) before...

Upton, Emory
(1839-1881) US soldier and military theorist. An 1861 West Point graduate, he earned rapid promotion. At Spotsylvania (1864) his tactical innovations led to a penetration of forbidding Confederate defences. He...

Ur
Ancient city of the Sumerian civilization, in modern Iraq. Excavations by the British archaeologist Leonard Woolley show...

Urania
In Greek mythology, the Muse of astronomy. She was depicted with a staff pointing to a globe. ...

Uranus
In Greek mythology, the primeval sky god, whose name means `Heaven`. He was responsible for both the sunshine and the rain, and was the son and husb ...

Urban II
(c. 1042-1099) Pope 1088-99. He launched the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont in France in 1095. ...

Urban IV
(0000-1264) French-born pope 1261-64, successor to Alexander IV. His term of office marked the beginning of French influence in the curia, which led in the following century to the Great Schism and the...

urban legend
Folklore thriving in big cities, mainly in the USA in the 20th century, and usually transmitted orally. Some of the stories - hitchhikers that turn out to be ghosts, spiders breeding in elaborate...

urban renewal
Adaptation of existing buildings and neighbourhoods in towns and cities to meet changes in economic, social, and environmental requirements, rather than their demol ...

Urban V
(died 1370) French-born pope 1362-70, successor to Innocent VI. A zealous reformer, he also founded the great medical school at Montpellier. Urban was beatified by Pius IX in 1870. ...

Urban VI
(0000-1389) Pope 1378-89, successor to Gregory XI. It was Urban VI's determination to reform the higher clergy that caused the election of the antipope Clement VII at Avignon, so...

Urban VIII, Maffeo Barberini
(1568-1644) Pope 1623-44. His policies during the Thirty Years' War were designed more to maintain the balance of forces in Europe and prevent one side from dominating the papacy than to further the ...

Urban, Joseph
(1872-1933) US architect and set designer, of Austrian origin. In 1911 he settled in the USA, first working for the Boston Opera Company, then moving to New York to design sets for the Ziegfield Follies...

urbanization
Process by which the proportion of a population living in or around towns and cities increases through migration and natural increase. The growth of urban concentrations in the USA and Europe is a...

URC
Abbreviation for United Reformed Church, a British ecumenical church. ...

Urdd Gobaith Cymru
Welsh-language youth movement founded in 1922 by Ifan ab Owen Edwards, with camps, sport, and cultural activities for boys and girls, all conducted through the medium of Welsh. ...

Ureche, Grire
(c.1590-1647) Romanian chronicler. His Letopisetul Tarii Moldovei, which covers the period 1359-1594, is the earliest surviving chronicle in Romanian and among the first secular works of any...

Urfé, Honore d'
(1567-1625) French writer. His main work was a vast and influential pastoral romance, L'Astrée/Astrea, the first part of which was published in 1607 and the fifth posthumously in 1627. The final section was...

Uriconium
Alternative name for the Roman-British town of Viroconium, now Wroxeter, Shropshire, England. ...

urim and thummim
Two mysterious objects in the breastplate of the high priests of the ancient Hebrews, which were used for divination. They are mentioned in the Bible but it is not known what they were. ...

Urquhart, Robert Elliot
(1901-1988) British general of World War II. Served with the 51st Highland Division in North Africa 1942 and then in Sicily and Italy. He returned to the UK and in 1944 was given command of 1st Airborne...

Urquiza, Justo José de
(1801-1870) Argentine president 1854-60, regarded as the organizer of the Argentine nation. Governor of Entre Ríos from 1841, he set up a progressive administration. Supported by Brazil and Uruguay, he...

Ursula, St
(lived 4th century AD) English legendary saint, supposed to have been martyred with 11 virgins (misread as 11,000 in the Middle Ages) by the Huns in the Rhineland. ...

Ursuline
Roman Catholic religious order, founded in Brescia, Italy, by St Angela Merici (1474-1540) in 1537; it carries out educational work among girls. It was the first women's teaching order. ...

Uruguay
Country in South America, on the Atlantic coast, bounded north by Brazil and west by Argentina. Government The 1967 constitution provides for a president who is head of state and head of government,...

URUPABOL
Organization formed 1981 by Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay to foster economic and commercial cooperation. ...

US Constitution
The framework of US federal government, drafted at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, and ratified in 1788 to take effect from 1789. It replaced the Articles of Confederation...

US v. Butler
US Supreme Court decision of 1936 concerning a New Deal policy of using federal taxing powers to regulate the economy. The challenge was brought against the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA), which...

US v. Darby Lumber Co.
US Supreme Court decision of 1941 that decided the issue of federal control of commerce, overturning Hammer v. Dagenhart of 1918. The case dealt with the constitutionality of the Fair Labor...

US v. E C Knight Co.
US Supreme Court decision of 1895 dealing with the right of the federal government to restrict the formation of corporate monopolies. The American Sugar Co. established a 98% monopoly on sugar...

US v. Nixon
US Supreme Court decision of 1974 dealing with the extent to which a US president may exercise executive privilege in a criminal investigation. During the Watergate investigations, President Nixon...

Usher, James
(1581-1656) Irish priest, archbishop of Armagh from 1625. He was responsible for dating the creation to the year 4004 BC, a figure that was inserted in...

Ussher
Alternative spelling of James Usher. ...

USSR
Abbreviation for the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. ...

Ustaše
Croatian nationalist terrorist organization founded 1929 and led by Ante Pavelic against the Yugoslav state. During World War II, it collaborated with the Nazis and killed thousands of Serbs,...

Ustinov, Peter Alexander
(1921-2004) English stage and film actor, writer, and director. Of Russian descent, he had an impressive screen presence, either as comic chat-show raconteur or dramatic actor. He won Academy Awards for Best...

usury
Former term for charging interest on a loan of money. In medieval times, usury was held to be a sin, and Christians were forbidden to lend (although not to borrow). The practice of charging interest...

Utagawa, Kuniyoshi
Japanese printmaker; see Kuniyoshi Utagawa. ...

Utah Beach
Beach on the extreme right flank of the Allied forces in the D-Day landings, close to...

Ute
Member of an American Indian people who inhabited the Great Basin region of Utah and western Colorado by the 16th century. They speak a Southern Numic dialect of the Uto-Aztecan family, and are...

Uthman
(c. 574-656) Third caliph (leader of the Islamic Empire) from 644, a son-in-law of the prophet Muhammad. Under his rule, the Arabs became a naval power and extended their rule to North Africa and Cyprus, but...

Uthman I
Another name for the Turkish sultan Osman I. ...

utilitarianism
Philosophical theory of ethics outlined by the philosopher Jeremy Bentham and developed by John Stuart Mill. According...

Utnapishtim
In the Epic of Gilgamesh, a man granted immortality by the gods. In a story exactly like that of the biblical Noah, he and his household are the lone survivors in a boat built for the purpose of a...

Uto-Aztecan
Major group of American Indian languages belonging to the Aztec-Tanoan family of Central America and western and southwestern USA. Branches include Nahuatalan, the language of the Aztec, spoken by...

Utopia
Social and political satire written in Latin by Thomas More, whose friend Erasmus arranged its publication in Louvain in 1516. In the first part of the book a traveller outlines the shortcomings of...

Utopia
Any ideal state in literature, named after philosopher Thomas More's ideal commonwealth in his book Utopia 1516. Other versions include Plato's Republic, Francis Bacon's New Atlantis, and City of...

utopianism
The wish or attempt to create an ideal social and political system. Attempts at creating utopian communities have often taken the form of communes. Cooperative communities were suggested by, for...

Utrecht, Treaty of
Treaty signed 1713 that ended the War of the Spanish Succession. Philip V was recognized as the legitimate king of Spain, thus founding the Spanish branch of the Bourbon dynasty and ending the...

Utrecht, Union of
In 1579, the union of seven provinces of the northern Netherlands - Holland, Zeeland, Friesland, Groningen, Utrecht, Gelderland, and Overijssel - that, as the United Provinces, became the basis...

Utrillo, Maurice
(1883-1955) French artist. A self-taught painter, he was first influenced by the Impressionists, but soon developed a distinctive, almost naive style characterized by his subtle use of pale tones and muted...

Uttley, Alison
(1884-1976) English writer of children's stories. Born on a farm in Derbyshire, her first novel, The Country Child (1931), was followed by a flood of books, which revealed her great love for and knowledge of...

Utzon, J&osla;rn
(1918) Danish architect. His design for the Sydney Opera House, one of the iconic buildings of the 20th century, won an international competition in 1957 (he resigned from the project in 1966). He won...

Uzbek
Member of the majority ethnic group (almost 70%) living in Uzbekistan. Minorities live in Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Afghanistan and include Turkomen, Tatars, Armenians, Kazakhs, and...

Uzbekistan
Country in central Asia, bounded north by Kazakhstan and the Aral Sea, east by Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, south by Afghanistan, and west by Turkmenistan. Government The 1992 constitution provides...

Vaca, Alvar Nunez Cabeza de
(c. 1490-c. 1564) Spanish colonial governor and explorer. He was the first European to cross the territory later known as New Mexico. In 1528 he took part in the expedition of Pamphilo de Narvaez to Florida, in which...

Vachell, Horace Annesley
(1861-1955) English novelist. His novels, often about English middle-class life and aspirations, include Brothers 1904, John Verney 1911, Quinney's Adventures 1924, about an antique dealer, and Quinney's for...

Vadim, Roger
(1928-2000) French film and theatre director, actor, and writer, of Ukrainian descent. He is most renowned for the sexually explicit nature of his films and the fact that the main actor was often one of his...

Vaea of Houma
(1921) Tongan politician, prime minister 1991-2000. He worked as an aide to Queen Salote 1954-59, as governor of the Ha'apai island group 1960-68, and as Tonga's high commissioner in the UK...

vagrancy
Homelessness. English law classifies as vagrants not only tramps who do not make use of available shelter, but also prostitutes who behave indecently in public, pedlars who trade without a licence,...

Vahagn
In Armenian mythology, a hero-god whose cult replaced that of Mithras. He was a god of courage, renowned for defeating dragons. At birth he is said to have had hair of fire, a beard of flame, and...

Vail, Theodore (Newton)
(1845-1920) US telephone and utilities executive. He inaugurated the Fast Mail, the first train to carry only mail, between New York and Chicago (1875), and by 1876 was general superintendent of the railway...

Vailland, Roger
(1907-1965) French writer. His novels include Drôle de jeu/Playing with Fire 1945, Les Mauvais Coups/Turn of the Wheel 1948, and La Loi/The Law 1957. He has also written plays and volumes of essays, such as...

Vaillant, George Clapp
(1901-1945) US archaeologist. His Harvard PhD thesis established a chronology of Maya ceramics; his later work established the historical sequence of cultures in pre-Columbian Mexico. At the American Museum...

Vair, Guillaume du
(1556-1621) French orator and philosopher. A supporter of Henry of Navarre (later Henry IV), he made his name as an orator with such speeches as Exhortation à la paix/An Exhortation to Peace (1592). He served...

Vairochana
Cosmic Buddha, Dainichi in Japan; central to esoteric Buddhism. He is usually depicted at the centre of mandalas. In Shingon Buddhism, all gods, all objects, and all thoughts are manifestations of...

Vaishnavism
Worship of the Hindu god Vishnu, numerically the most widespread faith in Hinduism. The principal forms of Vishnu are Krishna and Rama, whose teachings are summarized in such scriptures as the ...

Vaisya
A member of the third caste in India's caste system. Originally the occupations of people belonging to the Vaisya caste would have encompassed agriculture, trade, and the rearing of livestock. Today...

Vajpayee, Atal Behari
(1926) Indian politician, prime minister in 1996 and 1998-2004. Leader of the liberal wing of the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he served as prime minister for 13 days during May 1996...

vajra
In Buddhism, a metal or carved symbol of a thunderbolt or diamond, representing the power and determination of Buddhism. ...

vak
In Sikh worship, a random reading from the Guru Granth Sahib (holy book). It is taken from the top left-h ...

Vakhtangov, Yevgeny
(1883-1922) Russian theatre director and actor. After studying under Stanislavsky at the Moscow Art Theatre and adopting his methods, he soon developed his own individual approach to stagecraft. Vakhtangov's...