Born June 25, 1903, in Motihari, India, George Orwell is a British author of the classics Animal Farm and 1984. Son of a British Colonial servant, he was given the name Eric Arthur Blair. He uses the name George Orwell as a pseudonym, so that he does not embarrass his family. Although he was born in India he moved to England with his mother and older sister, Avril, when he was about 1 years old. His father decided to stay in India, but he did not visit often, causing Orwell to not have a close relationship with his father. Despite this Orwell was a writer at a young age, he is believed to have composed his first poem at age four and at age eleven a poem of his was published in the local paper. He obtained a partial scholarship to St. Cyprian and then a full scholarship to Eton College where he finished his schooling. In 1922 Orwell joined the Indian Imperial police force in Burma and then left in 1928, when he moved to Paris, France. In Paris, Orwell's writing career was unsuccessful and forced him to take up many labor jobs, which served as his inspiration for his first major writing, Down and Out in Paris and London, published in 1933. Three years later in June 1936, he married Eileen O’Shaughnessy and later in 1944 adopted a son named Richard Horatio Blair. Unfortunately Eileen died in 1949 leaving Richard to be raised by Avril. A few months after he married, Orwell joined the Spanish Civil war against General Francisco Franco where he was shot in the throat and arm. Orwell was also diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1938 and was sent to Preston Hall Sanatorium in order to receive treatment. Despite his disease in 1941 he took a job as a producer with the BBC, where he developed news commentary and shows for audiences in eastern London, but resigned in 1943 due to world war II. After resigning from this job he began to focus on his writing more and produced the classic Animal Farm in 1945, which was an anti-soviet satire. Towards the end of his life Orwell was able to publish another classic 1984, which describes a fictional future government that controls everything including individual thought. Orwell died January 21, 1950 in London, but his classics continue to live on and influence the world today.
Sources "George Orwell." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015. Web. 22 =5" >Apr. 2015. "George Orwell (1903 - 1950)." BBC News. BBC. Web. 22 Apr. 2015. |