Real world timeline

This is a chronology of real-world events. For a Middle-earth timeline, see Timeline of Arda
* 1892 — John Ronald Reuel Tolkien is born on January 3, in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
* 1916 — J.R.R. Tolkien marries Edith Bratt on March 22. In June, he is assigned to the Lancaster Fusiliers and sent to France.
* 1917 — Edith Tolkien gives birth to John.
* 1918 — First draft of "The Fall of Gondolin" is completed.
* 1920 — Edith Tolkien gives birth to Michael.
* 1921 — J.R.R. Tolkien begins teaching at the University of Leeds.
* 1924 — Edith Tolkien gives birth to Christopher. J.R.R. accepts a position as Professor of English Language at Leeds.
* 1925 — July - J.R.R. Tolkien is elected to the Rawlinson and Bosworth Chair of Anglo-Saxon in the University of Oxford. He is admitted to a non-stipendiary professorial fellowship at Pembroke College in October 1926. His edition (with E.V. Gordon) of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is published.
* 1926 — The Tolkiens move into 22 Northmoor Rd, Oxford in January. J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis first meet.
* Sometimes in the late 1920s—Tolkien writes the words "In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit" on the back of a term paper. He does not know what they mean.
* 1929 — Edith Tolkien gives birth to Priscilla.
* 1933 — The first stories of a hobbit named Bilbo appear at the Tolkien house.
* 1936 — J.R.R. Tolkien completes and delivers it to Stanley Unwin. He also delivers his seminal lecture, Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics to the British Association.
* 1937 — The Hobbit is published by Allen & Unwin.
* 1938 — J.R.R. Tolkien writes Leaf by Niggle.
* 1939 — J.R.R. Tolkien delivers his lecture, On Fairy-stories.
* 1945 — "Leaf by Niggle" is published. J.R.R. Tolkien is elected to the Merton Chair of English Language and Literature in the University of Oxford.
* 1949 — Farmer Giles of Ham is published.
* 1954 — is published. Only the first two volumes, and , are released this year.
* 1955 — , the final volume of The Lord of the Rings, is published. The BBC produces a 13-part radio adaptation of .
* 1956 — The BBC radio adaptation of The Lord of the Rings continues.
* 1959 — J.R.R. Tolkien retires his professorship at Oxford.
* 1962 — is published.
* 1964 — Tree and Leaf, an anthology consisting of On Fairy-stories and a revised Leaf by Niggle, is published.
* 1965 — American paperback edition of The Lord of the Rings is published.
* 1966 — is published.
* 1967 — Publication of both The Road Goes Ever On: A Song Cycle and Smith of Wootton Major.
* 1968 — BBC radio broadcasts an eight-part (4-hour) adaptation of . Tolkien originally sold the film, stage and merchandise rights of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings to United Artists but nothing came of it. The Tolkien family moves to Poole near Bournesmouth.
* 1969 — Bored of the Rings is published.
* 1971 — Edith Tolkien dies on November 29.
* 1972 — J.R.R. Tolkien named CBE by Queen Elizabeth II.
* 1973 — J.R.R. Tolkien dies on September 2.
* 1976 — The rights to The Lord of the Rings are sold to , a division of the Saul Zaentz Company.
* 1977 — is published posthumously, edited by Christopher Tolkien. Canadian author Guy Gavriel Kay is credited with assisting Christopher. Rankin-Bass studios produced the first real film adaptation of any of Tolkien's works with an 
* 1978 — Ralph Bakshi's animated film is released by United Artists.
* 1979 — by David Day is published.
* 1980 — , a collection of essays about Middle-earth edited by Christopher Tolkien, is published (unofficially part of the The History of Middle-earth collection). An animated television version of airs.
* 1981 — BBC broadcasts a new, ambitious dramatization of in 26 half-hour installments. The original publication of Karen Wynn Fonstad's . are first published in book form.
* 1982 — Mr. Bliss is published.
* 1984 — is published, the first volume of collection and .
* 1985 — is published (later part of the The History of Middle-earth collection).
* 1986 — is published (later part of the The History of Middle-earth collection).
* 1987 — is published (later part of the The History of Middle-earth collection).
* 1988 — The second edition of Tree and Leaf, which added the poem Mythopoeia, is published. (annotated by Douglas A. Anderson) is published.
* 1989 — and are published (both later part of the The History of Middle-earth collection).
* 1990 — is published (later part of the The History of Middle-earth collection).
* 1991 — A revised addition of Karen Wynn Fonstad's The Atlas of Middle-earth is published.
* 1992 — is published (later part of the The History of Middle-earth collection).
* 1993 — (by Wayne G. Hammond & Douglas A. Anderson) and (later part of the The History of Middle-earth collection) are published.
* 1994 — (later part of the The History of Middle-earth collection) are published.
* 1995 — (by Wayne G. Hammond & Christina Scull with illustration by J.R.R. Tolkien) is published.
* 1996 — is published.
* 1998 — Roverandom is finally published.
* 2000 — is published. (by various Tolkien scholars) is published
* 2001 — The third edition of Tree and Leaf, which added the short poem The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son, is published.
* 2001 — , the first of directed by Peter Jackson, premieres on December 19.
* 2002 — and , the last in the The History of Middle-earth are published. HarperCollins publishes a single, three-volume set of The History of Middle-earth. premieres on December 18. is published.
* 2003 — Quettaparma is published. premieres on December 17. Fell Beasts and Wondrous Magic (a supplement to The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game) is published. 
* 2004 — The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King films receives 11 Oscars, including Best Picture.
* 2005 — (by Wayne G. Hammond & Christina Scull) is published.
* 2006 — (by Wayne G. Hammond & Christina Scull) is published.
* 2007 — and Christopher Tolkien's are published.
* 2008 — Of Words and Worlds (by Mark J.P. Wolf) is published.
* 2011 — (by Wayne G. Hammond & Christina Scull with illustration by J.R.R. Tolkien) is published.
* 2012 — , the first film in a of The Hobbit by Peter Jackson, is released. (by Marjorie Burns & Douglas A. Anderson) is published.
* 2013 — is released.
* 2014 — is released.
* 2015 — (by Wayne G. Hammond & Christina Scull with illustration by J.R.R. Tolkien) is published.
* 2017 — is published by Christopher Tolkien.
* 2018 — , the last of the Great Tales, is published by Christopher Tolkien.
* 2021 — is published (unofficially part of the The History of Middle-earth collection).
* 2022 — 
* 2024 — is published.
* 2043 — Tolkien's published works will remain copyrighted until this year.
Category:Chronologies
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