 Born on 25 January 1920 in Zurich, Switzerland, Ullendorff was educated at the Graues Kloster in Berlin, the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and the University of Oxford.Ullendorff was first lecturer, and then Reader, in Semitic Languages at the University of St Andrews (1950–1959), Professor of Semitic Languages at the University of Manchester (1959–1964).From 1964 to 1979, he was professor Ethiopic at School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), and then professor Semitic Studies from 1979 to 1982.