Uriah Heep was a character in what Charles Dickens novel?

Uriah Heep is a fictional character created by Charles Dickens in his novel "David Copperfield". The character is notable for his cloying humility, obsequiousness, and insincerity, making frequent references to his own "'umbleness". His name has become synonymous with being a sycophant. He is one of the main antagonists of the book.

Much of "David Copperfield" is autobiographical and some scholars believe Heep's mannerisms and physical attributes to be based on Hans Christian Andersen, whom Dickens met shortly before writing the novel. Uriah Heep's schemes and behavior are more likely based on Thomas Powell, employee of a friend of Dickens, Thomas Chapman. Powell "...ingratiated himself into the Dickens household" and was discovered to be a forger and a thief, having embezzled £10,000 from his employer. He later attacked Dickens in pamphlets, calling particular attention to Dickens' social class and background.

The British rock band Uriah Heep is named after the character. A reference to the "'umble' Uriah Heep is the arrant hypocrite" is given in Augustus Hopkins Strong's, Systematic Theology. In Robert A. Caro's "The Path to Power", Lyndon B. Johnson is said to have resembled the personality of Uriah Heep.