George Orwell
1903 - 1950
Born in Motihari, Bengal Presidency, British India
George Orwell (born Eric Arthur Blair) was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterized by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitarianism, and support of democratic socialism. Orwell's work remains influential in popular culture and in political culture, and the adjective "Orwellian"—describing totalitarian and authoritarian social practices—is part of the English language, like many of his neologisms, such as "Big Brother", "Thought Police", "Two Minutes Hate", "Room 101", "memory hole", "Newspeak", "doublethink", "proles", "unperson", and "thoughtcrime".
“In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”
Timeline
Born in Motihari, Bengal Presidency, British India
Joined the Imperial Police in Burma
Moved to Paris
Published first book, Down and Out in Paris and London
Fought in the Spanish Civil War
Published Animal Farm
Published Nineteen Eighty-Four
Died of tuberculosis in London
Works
Notable Quote
In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
George Orwell
Influences
- Spanish Civil War
- Totalitarianism
- British colonialism
- Socialism
- Jonathan Swift
Achievements
- His novels Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four have together sold more copies than any two books by any other 20th-century author
- Named by The Times as one of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945"
- Orwell Prize established in his name for political writing
- His concepts and terminology have become fundamental in discussions of privacy, state security, and institutional deception