Fun Facts About George Orwell
- George Orwell suggested four pen names for his first book: P.S. Burton, Kenneth Miles, H. Lewis Allways and George Orwell. The "Orwell" came from the River Orwell in Suffolk.[1]
- At Eton, the young Orwell was taught French by Aldous Huxley.[1]
- T. S. Eliot, then editorial director at Faber & Faber, rejected an early version of Orwell's first book, Down and Out in Paris and London.[1]
- Orwell deliberately got himself arrested so he could spend Christmas in prison, but the authorities did not consider his drunk and disorderly behavior worth jailing.[1]
- In the Spanish Civil War a sniper shot Orwell in the throat. At 6 ft 2 in he was much taller than the Spanish fighters, and the bullet missed his main artery by the barest margin.[1]
- As a police officer in Burma, Orwell got a small blue circle tattooed on each knuckle, like the tattoos rural Burmese wear to protect against bullets and snake bites.[1]
- Walt Disney and George Orwell were born less than two years apart, in 1901 and 1903.[1][2][3][4]
- George Orwell was alive at the same time as Dmitri Mendeleev — their lives overlapped for 4 years (1903–1907).[1][2][5][6]
Eric Arthur Blair 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, and support of democratic socialism.[1]
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Questions About George Orwell
When was George Orwell born?
George Orwell was born on June 25, 1903, and died on January 21, 1950.
How old was George Orwell at death?
George Orwell was born on June 25, 1903, and died on January 21, 1950, at age 46.
What was George Orwell known for?
George Orwell was known for: 1984, Animal Farm. Eric Arthur Blair 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, and support of democratic socialism.
Who was alive at the same time as George Orwell?
George Orwell's closest contemporary was Winston Churchill. Their lives overlapped for 47 years.
Sources
- George Orwell — Wikipedia. Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0
- George Orwell (Q3335) — Wikidata
- Walt Disney — Wikipedia
- Walt Disney (Q8704) — Wikidata
- Dmitri Mendeleev — Wikipedia
- Dmitri Mendeleev (Q9106) — Wikidata
- Portrait: George Orwell, c. 1940 (41928180381).jpg — Wikimedia Commons. Cassowary Colorizations, CC BY 2.0