David Prashker's Book Of Days: The Merely Mentioneds: U, V

Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque, but known on his cartoons as Zunar: arrested for the crime of satire on Sept 27; his website here [illustrious illustrators]

Viktor Josef Ullmann, but sometimes Josef von Tannfels for his scores: among the fellow-prisoners at Terezin (see April 1 ) where he composed, inter alia, the one-act opera "Der Kaiser von Atlantis"; he died at Auschwitz in October 1944; full bio here [musical maestros]

Thomas D’Urfey: collecting nursery rhymes on March 15 [lighter writers]

Gui d’Ussel: one of the Troubadours who came under the matronage of Maria de Ventadorn on Jan 13 [Trobairitz and The Poets]

Isaac Uziel, fully Isaac ben Abraham Uziel of Fez (and later of Amsterdam), who taught Menasseh ben Israel as well as Isaac Aboab; and in Aboab’s case taught him how to excommunicate a fellow Jew, by doing this to Uriel da Costa (Adam Romes was his pen-name), and not once but twice, da Costa committing suicide after the degradations imposed on him the second time. His crime? Exactly the same as Baruch Spinoza’s. Free thought of an Enlightenment sort, and the invention, though he didn’t call it that, of Bible Criticism: Feb 1

Lazzaro Uzielli (born February 4 1861; died October 8 1943): teaching Erwin Schulhoff in Cologne on April 1 [musical maestros]

Valentinus: see Feb 14

Jean Valjean: miserable with Victor Hugo on Feb 26; on the barricades with Casanova on April 2 [serious scribes]

Pietro di Cristoforo Vanucci; sometimes spelled Vannucci; Perugino was his nome d'arte, chosen because he came from Perugia: (1446-1523): contributing to the Sistine Chapel on Nov 1 (another of the contributors, Raffaelo di Giovanni Santi, was one of his students); bio and pictures here [illustrious illustrators]

Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón (born 1480; died in Virginia on October 18 1526): landed on the coast of Georgia on September 29 1526, the first time enslaved Africans had set foot on the continent (click here) [mentioned on the Africa page, needs to be added to the pre-Columban page]

Francisco Vasquez de Coronado: heading for New Mexico with still more black slaves on board [Africa and pre-Columban Americas pages]

William Vaux (3rd Baron Vaux of Harrowden, 1535-1595): already accused with his brother-in-law Sir Thomas Tresham of harbouring the Jesuit priest Edmund Campion, two decades before the Gunpowder Plot of Nov 5. Wife Anne was also involved, hiding another Jesuit priest, Henry Garnet: “Vaux suspected the existence of the Gunpowder Plot, but she played no direct role in it. She was arrested shortly after the plot was discovered but was released on a bond put up by Lewis Pickering. After her release, she tried unsuccessfully to hide Garnet at the home of Thomas Abington at Hindlip, Worcestershire” - all that from here; and is he the reason for Vaux Hall, which is literally a bridge away from Westminster, and only a single letter away from the straw man on the bonfire - Guy of course being short for Guillaume, which is William: so William Vaux...Guy Vaux...Guy Faux...Guy Fawkes... far too many coincidences to be anything but worthy of further investigation

Tiziano Vecellio (Titian) born circa 1490; died August 27 1576): just one more painting on April 16; bio here [illustrious illustrators]

Bernard de Ventadorn: matronised by Eleanor of Aquitaine on April 1

Suzanne Verdal: dancing inspirationally, but platonically, for Leonard Cohen, on Nov 28; their story, told by her, here [musical maestros]

Mme Verdurin: as in Proust’s attempt to recover wasted time; hostessing a salon on Feb 5; referenced on Oct 5. Pure fiction: but what is interesting, and worth a piece on its own, is the source: Léontine Lippmann (born June 14 1844; died January 12 1910), better known by her married name as Madame Arman, or fully Madame Arman de Caillavet; and not just Proust, but Anatole France as well, entirely enmused by her [serious scribes]

Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford: co-authoring Shakespeare’s plays with Francis Bacon on Jan 5, June 29, Sept 2 and Dec 29 [the world as stage]

Marie-Madeleine Pioche de la Vergne, Comtesse de la Fayette: wrote what is regarded as the first French, indeed possibly the first European novel, "La Princesse de Clèves" in 1878; her dates are 1634-1693 and she gets two mentions, one on Aug 25, the other with Adrienne Lafayette on Sept 18 [serious scribes]

Amerigo Vespucci (born March 9 1454 in Florence; died February 22 1512) in his native Italian, but remembered as Américo Vespúcio in Portuguese and Spanish; Latinised it becomes Americus, and thence America; on the blog on May 5; bio here [pre-Columban Americas]

Agmondesham Vesey, or Vezey, or probably Vessey; married cousin Elizabeth on July 23

Philippe Viannay: leading the Résistance with wife Hélène on Jan 26

Pèire de Vic, known as “Lo Monge de Montaudon”, The Monk of Montaudon: one of the Troubadours who came under the matronage of Maria de Ventadorn on Jan 13; complete works here [Trobairitz and The Poets]

Giambattista Vico (born June 23 1668; died January 23 1744): introduced to his Oxford colleagues by Matthew Arnold on Dec 24; but you will also find him mentioned with James Joyce, Sam Beckett and others on Feb 16; bio here [philosophers]

Paul-Antoine Vidal: teaching Lili Boulanger composition on Aug 21; bio here [musical maestros]

Louis Vigée: her dad, on April 16 [illustrious illustrators]

Gene Vincent: I think that should be Jean Vinsant on Sept 14; actually, no, because it was his nom de microphone, not his birthname: Vincent Eugene Craddock (born February 11 1935; died October 12 1971); doesn’t really work for a pop star, does it! [musical maestros]

Hayyim ben Joseph Vital in Hebrew, Chaim Vital Calabrese elsewhere (born in Zefat circa 1543, died in Damasek on April 23 1620): a disciple of Isaac Luria on Aug 5 and best remembered for his "Etz Chaim" ( full list of his Luria texts here; more on the man here) [reverend writers]