Tseng Kuo-fan. 1811-72. Chinese general. Suppressed Taiping Rebellion 1850-64.

Ugolino della Gherardesca. -1289. Italian Guelf noble. Executed by starvation for treason.

Ulbricht, Walter. 1893-1973. East German Stalinist General Secretary 1950-71. Head of State 1960-. Ordered Berlin Wall.

Union. The North. States which did not secede during the American Civil War. Confederacy.

United Arab Emirates. 1820 = Trucial States. 1892 British protectorate. 1971 Independent federation.

United Provinces of Central America. CAF.

Urquiza, Justo de. 1801-70. Overthrew dictator, de Rosas. Argentine Confederation president 1854-60.

U Thant. 1909-74. Burmese United Nations Secretary General 1961-7.

Utraquists. 15C. Moderate Bohemian Hussite sect; most re-absorbed by Roman Catholic Church 1620. Moravian Church.

Van de Graaff, Robert. 1901-67. US physicist. Particle accelerator 1929. High voltage generator 1932.

Vatican. 1146 Palace begun. 1377 Principal Papal residence. 11,000 rooms; world’s largest residence. 1929 Sovereign. Lateran Treaty.

Vatican City. 1929 State established by Lateran Treaty.

Vera Cruz Incident. 1914. Mexico seizes US ship. US attacks Vera Cruz.

Verdi, Giusseppe. 1813-1901. Italian Nationalist operatic composer. Otello. Rigoletto 1851. Traviata 1853. Aida 1871.

Vetsera, Maria. -1889. Mistress of Rudolf; died with him.

Vienna, Congress. 1814-15. Redrew map of Europe after Napoleon. Prussia gains Rhine, Westphalia. Swiss borders and neutrality confirmed. Netherlands created from Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg. Malta and Cape Colony ceded to Britain. Russia gets Poland. Austria trades Netherlands for north Italy. France reduced to 1792 borders. Metternich.

Vienna, Peace. 1606. Ended Hungarian rebellion vs Hapsburgs. Toleration for Protestants.

Vietnam. Annam. 209BC Nam Vet kingdom. 111BC China. 2C Funan, 939 Independent. Khmer, Cham, Mongol invasions repelled. 1407 Ming. 1867 France (S). 1883 Tonkin, Annam French protectorates(N). 1940 Japanese occupy. 1945 Independent. 1946-54 French Indochina War. 1954 Communist Democratic Republic (N). 1955 Republic (S). 1962 Vietnam War. 1976 Socialist Republic of Vietnam 1987 Economic liberalization. 1995 US recognition.

Viscount. 4th rank of British peerage, below earl.

Vitoria. 1813. Wellington victory, liberated Spain from France. Peninsular War.

Wagner, Richard. 1813-83. German Romantic opera composer/librettist. Leitmotif. Unified drama and music in long and complex operas. Tannhäuser 1845. Lohengrin 1850. Nibelung Ring 1853-76. Tristan and Isolde 1857-9. Parsifal 1882.

Walachia. 1290 Vlachs settle. 1417 Ottoman suzerainty. 1774 Russia. 1859 +Moldavia =Romania.

Waldheim, Kurt. 1918-. Austrian. UN Secretary General 1972-82. Austrian president 1986-92. German officer WWII.

Wales. Celts. 55BC Rome. 7C +England. 8C Divided. 9C Re-united. 11C Norman. 1284 English suzerainty. 1536 Union with England.

Wallenstein, Albrecht von. 1583-1634. Bohemian HRE general in Thirty Years War.

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