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Unamuno, Miguel de (1864-1936). Spanish philosopher, university teacher and writer. Born in Bilbao, the youngest of four children. His father, Felix, died when Miguel was five and he was brought up by his mother, Salomé de Jugo, as a devout Catholic. Unamuno developed an early love of nature and he benefited from the library which his father had collected. In addition to reading Catholic authors, he also became fascinated by the history, poetry and legends of the Basques. At 16 Unamuno began his studies at the University of Madrid where he was much influenced by the works of Kant, Hegel and Spencer, and became an agnostic. His thesis was on the history of the Basques, and in 1884 he returned to Bilbao to begin a literary career. Among his many articles were a series for the Socialist weekly, La Lucha de Clases. In 1891 Unamuno was appointed to the chair of Greek at the University of Salamanca. In 1900 he was appointed rector of the university, but still continued with his teaching. He was a voracious reader - in ancient and modern literature, history, philosophy, psychology, science and theology. He even taught himself Danish in order to read Kierkegaard. In 1914 he was dismissed from his post as rector for political reasons, and in 1924 was briefly exiled by the dictator, Primo de Rivera, to Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands. He spent the next six years in voluntary exile in France. In 1931 he was elected to the Spanish Cortes and returned to the University of Salamanca. Unamuno’s need to support himself financially from his writings at various points in his life led to his considerable literary output, which included philosophical works, essays, novels, poetry and plays. Among his important works are El torno al casticismo (1895), Vida de Don Quijote et Sancho (1905) and Del sentimento trágico de la vida (1912), the novel Niebla (1914), and a volume of religious poetry, El Cristo de Velázquez (1920). Unamuno explored historical and psychological dimensions in seeking to express Spain’s real self. His life was a search for autonomy, for a solution to the tensions between the private and public spheres, and for the meanings of existence. He was a formidable opponent of authoritarianism, whether from the Right or the Left, and after 1931 he soon fell out with the Socialist régime. He strongly denounced foreign interference in the Spanish Civil War. See the nine-volume collection of Obras completas (1966-71), and Rudd, M., The Lone Heretic: A Biography of Miguel de Unamuno (1963); Wyers, F, Miguel de Unamuno: The Contrary Self (1976); Round, N.G. (ed.), Re-reading Unamuno (1989).