Profile of the Day: George Orwell

Do you remember reading 1984? On this day in 1903, author George Orwell was born in Motihari, Bengal, India.

Image: George Orwell / Wikimedia Commons

Orwell was born Eric Arthur Blair to Ida Mabel and Richard Walmesley Blair, who worked in the Opium Department of the Indian Civil Service. His second-great grandfather, Charles Blair, was a wealthy owner of plantations in Jamaica. He started writing at a young age and in 1933, published his first major work, Down and Out in Paris and London, under the pen name George Orwell.

Today, Orwell is best remembered for his novels Animal Farm and 1984 and is often considered one of the most influential voices of the 20th century. He frequently included themes of social injustice in his writings and many of the phrases he coined, such as “Big Brother,” have made their way into today’s vernacular.

Orwell died of tuberculosis on January 21, 1950 at the age of 46.

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