# George Orwell ![[50 Resources/51 Attachments/51.03 Public/2025-08-23_George_Orwell.jpg|400]] **Eric Arthur Blair** (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of **George Orwell**. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to all totalitarianism (both authoritarian communism and fascism), and support of democratic socialism. ## Key Information - **Born**: Eric Arthur Blair, 25 June 1903 in Motihari, Bengal Presidency, India - **Died**: 21 January 1950 (aged 46) in London, England - **Education**: Eton College - **Known for**: *Nineteen Eighty-Four*, *Animal Farm*, *The Road to Wigan Pier*, *Homage to Catalonia* - **Political affiliation**: Independent Labour Party (from 1938) - **Spouses**: Eileen O'Shaughnessy (1936–1945), Sonia Brownell (1949) ## Career and Contributions Orwell is best known for his allegorical novella *Animal Farm* (1945) and the dystopian novel *Nineteen Eighty-Four* (1949). His non-fiction works include *The Road to Wigan Pier* (1937), documenting his experience of working-class life in the industrial north of England, and *Homage to Catalonia* (1938), an account of his experiences soldiering for the Republican faction of the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). After serving as an imperial police officer in Burma, Orwell returned to England and began his writing career. He worked as a teacher, bookshop assistant, and journalist while developing his distinctive voice as a social critic and political commentator. ## Legacy and Influence Orwell's work remains influential in popular culture and in political culture. 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", "Room 101", "Newspeak", "memory hole", "doublethink", and "thoughtcrime". In 2008, *The Times* named Orwell the second-greatest British writer since 1945. His warnings about totalitarianism, surveillance, and the manipulation of truth continue to resonate in contemporary political discourse. ## Quotes <!-- QueryToSerialize: LIST FROM #type/quote AND [[George Orwell]] WHERE public_note = true SORT file.name ASC --> <!-- SerializedQuery: LIST FROM #type/quote AND [[George Orwell]] WHERE public_note = true SORT file.name ASC --> - [[The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it]] <!-- SerializedQuery END --> ## Books <!-- QueryToSerialize: LIST FROM #books AND [[George Orwell]] WHERE public_note = true SORT file.name ASC -->