Who was George Orwell?
George Orwell was the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair, an English writer best known for the novels Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four. His work warns against totalitarianism and the abuse of power.
Orwell was born in 1903 in Motihari, India, where his father worked for the British government. He was educated at Eton College.
He served in the Indian Imperial Police in Burma, an experience that made him critical of imperialism.
Writing and politics
Orwell wrote about poverty in Down and Out in Paris and London and The Road to Wigan Pier. He fought in the Spanish Civil War and described it in Homage to Catalonia.
Animal Farm, published in 1945, is an allegory of the Soviet Union, in which farm animals overthrow their human owner but are betrayed by their leaders.
Nineteen Eighty-Four, published in 1949, describes a totalitarian state ruled by Big Brother. Words such as Big Brother, Thought Police and doublethink entered everyday language.
Orwell died of tuberculosis in 1950. The adjective Orwellian describes oppressive government surveillance and control.