J. R. R. Tolkien

**John Ronald Reuel Tolkien** (3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was a British philologist, university professor, and writer. Tolkien is best known for his most famous works, _The Hobbit_ and _The Lord of the Rings_.

## Biography

He was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa but his parents were both from England. He lost much of his family at an early age. He fought in World War I, and after the war he found a job helping to produce the Oxford English Dictionary. Tolkien was very interested in languages, and he had studied at Oxford University. Soon he became a professor of English Language at the University of Leeds. He was then a professor at the University of Oxford until 1959, when he retired. He also was good friends with many other writers and scholars, most notably C. S. Lewis, who wrote the _Narnia_ books, _The Screwtape Letters_, and many essays on Christian theology. Tolkien himself was a devout Catholic.

Tolkien married Edith Mary Bratt on 22 March 1916 in England, at the age of 24. They had four children, three sons and a girl: John, Michael, Christopher, and Priscilla.

## Writing

He created and worked on the fictional fantasy world of Middle-earth for most of his life, and his most famous books are set in that world. Because of his Middle-earth books he is often considered the "father of high fantasy" which made the fantasy genre very popular.

Tolkien wrote other books, for example _Farmer Giles Of Ham_, and also illustrated (drew the pictures and maps for) _The Lord of the Rings_. _The Lord of the Rings_ was published in three parts and has been made into several motion pictures. _The Lord of the Rings_ took 12 years to write.

### Fiction and poetry

- _The Hobbit or There and Back Again_,  (HM). (1937)
- _Leaf by Niggle_ (1945, short story)
- _Farmer Giles of Ham_ (1949, medieval fable)
- _The Lord of the Rings_ (1954–1955)
    - _The Fellowship of the Ring_: being the first part of _The Lord of the Rings_,  (HM). (1954)
    - _The Two Towers_: being the second part of _The Lord of the Rings_,  (HM). (1954)
    - _The Return of the King_: being the third part of _The Lord of the Rings_,  (HM). (1955)
- _The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book_ (1962)
- _Smith of Wootton Major_ (1967)
- _The Road Goes Ever On_ (1967)
- _The Silmarillion_ (1977)
- _Unfinished Tales_ (1980)
- _The History of Middle-earth_ (1983–1996)
- _Bilbo's Last Song_ (1990)
- _The Children of Húrin_ (2007)
- _The History of The Hobbit_ (2007)

### Academic and other works

- _Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics_ (1937)
- _On Fairy-Stories_ (1947)
- _Ancrene Riwle_ or _Ancrene Wisse_

## Other websites

- HarperCollins Tolkien Website
- Tolkien Biography (The Tolkien Society)
- The Lord of the Rings Wiki
- Tolkien Gateway Wiki
- 1952 recording of Tolkien reading part of _The Two Towers_ (from "Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit")
- The Tolkien Library - Tolkien news, articles, resource, bibliography, biography, collectors guide

## Infobox (military person)

- **embed**: yes
- **branch**: British Army
- **serviceyears**: 1915–1920
- **rank**: Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines), Lieutenant
- **unit**: Lancashire Fusiliers
- **battles**: First World War
* Battle of the Somme
** Capture of Schwaben Redoubt
** Leipzig Salient, Actions at Leipzig Salient
** Regina Trench, Actions at Regina Trench


## Infobox (writer)

- **name**: J. R. R. Tolkien
- **image**: Tolkien-color.png
- **caption**: Colourised version of a photograph of J. R. R. Tolkien taken around 1925
- **birth name**: John Ronald Reuel Tolkien
- **birth place**: Bloemfontein, Orange Free State (modern-day South Africa)
- **death place**: Bournemouth, England
- **occupation**: Author, academia, academic, philology, philologist, poet
- **nationality**: British
- **alma mater**: Exeter College, Oxford
- **genre**: Fantasy, high fantasy, translation, literary criticism
- **notableworks**: * _The Hobbit_
* _The Lord of the Rings_
* _The Silmarillion_
* _Unfinished Tales_
- **children**: * John Francis Reuel Tolkien, John Francis (1917–2003)
* Tolkien family#Michael Hilary R. Tolkien, Michael Hilary (1920–1984)
* Christopher Tolkien, Christopher John (1924–2020)
* Priscilla Tolkien, Priscilla Anne ( 1929)