George Orwell

I think George Orwell is such a powerful figure because his work still feels so incredibly relevant today. Born Eric Arthur Blair in India, he eventually adopted the pen name George Orwell. He had a really varied life, serving as an imperial police officer in Burma, working as a dishwasher, and fighting in the Spanish Civil War, all of which really shaped his deep distrust of totalitarianism and his dedication to social justice. He is, without a doubt, best known for 1984 and Animal Farm, which basically gave us the vocabulary we still use to talk about surveillance, propaganda, and government overreach. He was a master of plain, clear prose, and his essays are just as brilliant as his novels. He passed away way too young, right as his work was becoming globally famous.