* 1974 – Christina Davis, Australian ballet dancer and contestant on the first season of Big Brother Australia

* 1984 – Matt McDonald, American roofing foreman and contestant on the 9th season of Big Brother

Big Brother is a fictional character in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.

The people are constantly reminded of this by the phrase " Big Brother is watching you ", which is the core " truth " of the propaganda system in this state.

Since the publication of Nineteen Eighty-Four, the term " Big Brother " has entered the lexicon as a synonym for abuse of government power, particularly in respect to civil liberties, often specifically related to mass surveillance.

Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener | Lord Kitchener, a possible inspiration for Big Brother

In the essay section of his novel 1985, Anthony Burgess states that Orwell got the idea for Big Brother from advertising billboards for educational correspondence courses from a company called Bennett's, current during World War II.

Additional speculation from Douglas Kellner of UCLA argued that Big Brother represents Joseph Stalin and that the novel portrayed life under totalitarianism.

In the novel it is not clear whether Big Brother is ( or was ) a real person or a fiction invented by the Party to personify itself.

In Party propaganda Big Brother is presented as a real person: one of the founders of the Party, along with Goldstein.

At one point in 1984 Winston Smith, the protagonist of Orwell's novel, tries " to remember in what year he had first heard mention of Big Brother.

In the Party histories, of course, Big Brother figured as the leader and guardian of the Revolution since its very earliest days.

His exploits had been gradually pushed backwards in time until already they extended into the fabulous world of the forties and the thirties, when the capitalists in their strange cylindrical hats still rode through the streets of London ..." In the year 1984 Big Brother appears on posters and the telescreen as a man of about 45.

When Winston Smith is later arrested, O ' Brien, his interrogator, again describes Big Brother as a figure who will never die.

When Smith asks if Big Brother exists, O ' Brien describes him as " the embodiment of the Party " and that he will exist as long as the Party exists.

When Winston follows up his question by asking " Does Big Brother exist the same way I do?

A spontaneous ritual of devotion to Big Brother (" BB ") is illustrated at the end of the " Two Minutes Hate ":

Though Oceania's Ministry of Truth, Ministry of Plenty, and Ministry of Peace each have names with meanings deliberately opposite to their real purpose, the Ministry of Love is perhaps the most straightforward: " rehabilitated thought criminals " leave the Ministry as loyal subjects who have been brainwashed into genuinely loving Big Brother.

Since the publication of Nineteen Eighty-Four the phrase " Big Brother " has come into common use to describe any prying or overly-controlling authority figure, and attempts by government to increase surveillance.

Russian comedian Yakov Smirnoff makes frequent reference to both Big Brother and other Orwellian traits in his Russian Reversal jokes.

The magazine Book ranked Big Brother No. 59 on its 100 Best Characters in Fiction Since 1900 list.

The worldwide reality television show Big Brother is based on the novel's concept of people being under constant surveillance.

In 2000, after the U. S. version of the CBS program " Big Brother " premiered, the Estate of George Orwell sued CBS and its production company " Orwell Productions, Inc ." in federal court in Chicago for copyright and trademark infringement.

The iconic image of Big Brother ( played by David Graham ) played a key role in Apple's 1984 television commercial introducing the Macintosh.

The December 2002 issue of Gear magazine featured a story about technologies and trends that could violate personal privacy moving society closer to a " Big Brother " state and utilised a recreation of the movie poster from the film version of 1984 created by Dallmeierart. com.

Big Brother's face looms from giant telescreens in Victory Square in Michael Radford's Nineteen Eighty-Four ( film ) | 1984 film adaptation of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Situations can be swapping gender roles, as in Tootsie ( 1982 ); an age changing role, as in Big ( 1988 ); a freedom-loving individual fitting into a structured environment, as in Police Academy ( 1984 ); a rural backwoodsman in the big city, as in " Crocodile " Dundee, and so forth.

* 1926 – Big Mama Thornton, American singer ( d. 1984 )

Stephenson's first novel, The Big U, published in 1984, was a satirical take on life at American Megaversity, a vast, bland and alienating research university beset by chaotic riots.

* The Big U ( 1984 )

After 9 – 7 and 10 – 6 finishes in 1984 and 1985 respectively, the Giants compiled a 14 – 2 record in 1986 led by league MVP and Defensive Player of the Year Lawrence Taylor and the Big Blue Wrecking Crew defense.

Other examples are the Peter Marlow series, beginning with The Private Sector ( 1971 ) by Joseph Hone, which is set during Israel's Six Day War ( 1967 ) against Egypt, Jordan, and Syria, and William Garner's secret agents, the fantastic Michael Jagger, in Overkill ( 1966 ), The Deep, Deep Freeze ( 1968 ), The Us or Them War ( 1969 ) and A Big Enough Wreath ( 1974 ) and the realistic John Morpurgo in Think Big, Think Dirty ( 1983 ), Rats ' Alley ( 1984 ), and Zones of Silence ( 1986 ).

* The Big Express ( 1984 )

This novel begins with the death of Big Brother and reflects an intermediate period between 1984 and a more optimistic future characterized with a decline in orthodoxy of the totalitarian system, struggles of the ensuing powers and the near destruction of the Oceania air force by Eurasia.

She got her start in supporting roles in The World According to Garp ( 1982 ), The Big Chill ( 1983 ), and The Natural ( 1984 ), which all earned her nominations for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

The short stories " Melville on Iapetus " ( 1983 ), " Promises to Keep " ( 1984 ), " Oculus " ( 2002 ), " The Big Downtown " ( 2005 ), " Kaminsky at War " ( 2006 ), and " Maiden Voyage " ( 2012 ) are also set in the Academy universe.

This means that since early cases like Hunter v. Southam ( 1984 ) and R. v. Big M Drug Mart ( 1985 ), they have concentrated not on the traditional, limited understanding of what each right meant when the Charter was adopted in 1982, but rather on changing the scope of rights as appropriate to fit their broader purpose.

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom stayed in Big Horn in October 1984 during a visit with her close friends, Lord and Lady Carnarvon, ( née Jeanne Wallop ) at Senator and Mrs. Wallop's Canyon Ranch.

* Honoured in an Irish ballad song released in 1984 entitled Clones Cyclone written by Johnny McCauley and sung by Big Tom

Hall & Oates returned to the studio in 1984 after a rest period to begin work on the Big Bam Boom album.

* Big Mama Thornton ( 1926 – 1984 ), singer / songwriter

1984 marked the first time that all of the nominees were from outside of the United States ( Culture Club, Eurythmics, and Musical Youth were from England, Big Country was from Scotland, and Men Without Hats were from Canada ).

Also released in 1984 was Eurythmics ' soundtrack album 1984 ( For the Love of Big Brother ).