Today in History, June 8th
On June 8, 1949, George Orwell published Nineteen Eighty-Four. Plus the NFL-AFL merger news and Serena Williams' first French Open title.
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June 8 is best known as the day George Orwell’s novel “Nineteen Eighty-Four” was published in 1949, giving the world Big Brother. The date also saw the NFL and AFL announce their merger in 1966 and Serena Williams win her first French Open in 2002.
The big story: Orwell publishes “Nineteen Eighty-Four” (1949)
On June 8, 1949, George Orwell published “Nineteen Eighty-Four,” his last novel and one of the gloomiest best sellers ever written. Its hero, Winston Smith, is a low-level Party member who spends his days at the Ministry of Truth rewriting old records so the past always agrees with the present. He lives in Oceania, one of three superstates locked in endless war, where the Thought Police watch everyone and posters remind citizens that Big Brother is watching. The Party even builds a new language, Newspeak, designed to make rebellious thoughts hard to express. Orwell, born Eric Blair, had already scored with “Animal Farm” in 1945, and he died of tuberculosis in 1950, not long after this book came out. His timing was grimly good. Published early in the Cold War, the novel handed readers a vocabulary for surveillance and propaganda, and “Big Brother” still serves as shorthand for government that knows too much.
More events on June 8
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 632 | Muhammad, the founder of Islam, died in Medina. |
| 793 | Norse raiders struck the monastery at Lindisfarne in England, the first recorded Viking attack in Europe. |
| 1191 | England’s Richard I arrived at Acre to join the Third Crusade, after conquering Cyprus along the way. |
| 1504 | Michelangelo’s statue of David is believed to have been installed in Florence. |
| 1867 | Franz Joseph of Austria was crowned king of Hungary. |
| 1924 | Noel Odell spotted George Mallory and Andrew Irvine climbing high on Mount Everest, the last time they were seen alive. |
| 1966 | The NFL and AFL announced they would merge, with the combined league to take effect in 1970. |
| 1967 | During the Six-Day War, Israeli aircraft and torpedo boats attacked the USS Liberty in the Mediterranean. |
| 1968 | James Earl Ray, wanted for the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., was arrested. |
| 2002 | Serena Williams won her first French Open title, beating her sister Venus in the final. |
| 2009 | The United Nations observed the first World Oceans Day. |
Born on June 8
- 1867: Frank Lloyd Wright, American architect, born in Richland Center, Wisconsin.
- 1916: Francis Crick, British scientist who shared the Nobel Prize for working out the structure of DNA.
- 1933: Joan Rivers, Brooklyn-born comedian and talk show host.
Sources
- George Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-Four” is published, History.com
- Nineteen Eighty-four, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- This Day in History: June 8, History.com
- On This Day: June 8, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Frank Lloyd Wright, Biography.com
- Francis Crick: Biographical, The Nobel Prize
- Joan Rivers, Biography.com
