This Day in History: George Orwell’s '1984' Is Published June 8, 1949 The vision of Orwell's final novel of a bleak, dystopian future would set the tone for the genre.
"Big Brother is watching you" would universally come to stand for oppressive authoritarianism.
Orwell would die of tuberculosis in 1950.
The book became the number one seller again, just days after President Donald Trump's inauguration.
Echoing the concept of "doublespeak" in the novel, Trump contradicted photo and video evidence by exaggerating the attendance numbers of his inauguration.
Since its publication, '1984' has sold more than 30 million copies.