George Orwell

About George Orwell

George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair, 1903-1950) earns his place as a historically important figure, ranking #398 in the Pantheon project, primarily for his seminal 20th-century literary contributions. As a writer, his dystopian novels, Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm, serve as profound political allegories that critique totalitarianism, profoundly influencing political discourse, language (introducing terms like 'Big Brother' and 'Newspeak'), and anti-authoritarian thought across various fields.

Orwell’s enduring influence is reflected in his 2.0 million annualized Wikipedia views in 2025, resulting in an "overattention" metric of +5x relative to his historical importance ranking. This suggests his canonical status strongly translates to modern internet curiosity. In a striking contrast, for example, his attention level significantly surpasses that of Hammurabi (#270 importance, 332K views), demonstrating a contemporary digital preference for modern political commentators over ancient lawgivers.

Further bolstering his contemporary relevance, Orwell is showing positive growth; his 2025 view count increased by +6.8% year-over-year, accompanied by a strong Q1 versus Q3 momentum of +9%, indicating sustained or increasing engagement with his work in the current climate.