George Monbiot
A ferocious and eloquent writer who channels outrage into actionable blueprints for rewilding our landscapes and restructuring our economies.
Born 1963 (age 63)·English writer and political activist·Birthday: January 27·Baby Boomers
Biography
George Monbiot is a man possessed by a productive fury. For decades, his column in The Guardian has served as a relentless audit of power, dissecting the failures of environmental policy and the corrosive influence of corporate wealth with forensic detail and moral clarity. He moves beyond critique, however, into the realm of tangible proposal. His concept of 'rewilding'—allowing ecosystems to restore their own complex balances—has shifted from fringe idea to mainstream conservation practice. In works like 'Out of the Wreckage', he sketches frameworks for a new 'politics of belonging', advocating for localism and participatory democracy as antidotes to alienation and ecological collapse. Whether facing down hostile interviewers or planting trees himself, Monbiot operates with the conviction that despair is a luxury we cannot afford, and that vivid, compelling stories are the first step toward systemic change.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
George was born in 1963, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When George Was Born
The biggest hits of 1963
#1 Movie
Cleopatra
Best Picture
Tom Jones
#1 TV Show
Beverly Hillbillies
George's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1963Born
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1968Started school
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1976Became a teenager
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1979Could drive
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1981Could vote
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1984Turned 21
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1993Turned 30
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
2003Turned 40
US invades Iraq; Human Genome Project completed
Gas: $1.59/galHome: $146,000Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"In Da Club" — 50 CentBest Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2013Turned 50
Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance programs
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $152,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Thrift Shop" — Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Picture: 12 Years a Slave
2023Turned 60
ChatGPT goes mainstream; Israel-Hamas war begins
Gas: $3.52/galHome: $361,600Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Flowers" — Miley CyrusBest Picture: Oppenheimer
2026Age 63 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Popularized the concept of 'rewilding' in the UK through his book 'Feral: Rewilding the Land, the Sea, and Human Life'.
- Awarded the 2022 Orwell Prize for Journalism for his columns exposing political corruption and environmental degradation.
- His investigative book 'Captive State' exposed the influence of large corporations over British public life and policy.
Did You Know?
He was arrested in 1989 for investigating the activities of the Brazilian land baron and suspect in the murder of Chico Mendes.
Monbiot lived among and wrote about the Indigenous tribes of Papua New Guinea and East Africa early in his career.
He is a founding member of the land rights project 'The Land for the Many'.
He once attempted to bring a private prosecution against the newspaper magnate and climate change denier, the late Viscount Rothermere.
““We are living in the age of loneliness, and we have created an ecological crisis by trying to dominate the natural world.””
