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John Ronald Reuel Tolkien ( January 3, 1892– September 2, 1973) was the author of The Hobbit and its sequel The Lord of the Rings, his most famous work.
A former pupil of King Edward's School, Birmingham, he worked as Professor of Anglo-Saxon at the University of Oxford from 1925 to 1945, and as Professor of English Language and Literature, also at Oxford, from 1945 to 1959Events January-February January 1 Cultivars of plants named after this date must be named in a modern language, not in Latin. January 1 Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when forces of Fidel Castro advance January 2 CBS Radio cuts four soap operas: Bac. He was an eminently distinguished lexicographerA lexicographer is a person devoted to the study of lexicography, especially an author of a dictionary. Some famous lexicographers Henry Bradley William Craigie Vladimir Dal Henry Watson Fowler Isaac Kaufmann Funk A. Hornby Samuel Johnson Pierre Larousse and an expert in Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse. He belonged to the literary discussion group the InklingsThe Inklings was a literary discussion group associated with the University of Oxford. Among its members were J. Tolkien, C. Lewis, Owen Barfield, Charles Williams, Hugo Dyson, Robert Havard, Nevill Coghill, and Warren "Warnie" Lewis (Lewis's older brothe, and had a close friendship with C. S. LewisClive Staples Lewis ( November 29, 1898 November 22, 1963), commonly referred to as C. Lewis was an author and scholar. He was born in Belfast, Ireland. He adopted the name "Jack," which is how he was known to his friends and acquaintances. He is known fo.
In addition to the The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien's published fiction includes a number of posthumous books about the history of the imaginary world of Middle-earthMiddle-earth is the name for the lands on J. Tolkien's fictional ancient Earth where most of the tales of his legendarium take place. Middle-earth is a literal translation of the Old Norse mythological term Midgard, referring to this world, the realm of h, where his stories take place. The enduring popularity and influence of these works have established Tolkien as the father of the modern high fantasyHigh fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy fiction that is set in invented or parallel worlds. These stories are serious in tone, often epic in scope, dealing with themes of grand struggle against supernatural evil forces. Other typical characteristics of high genre. Tolkien's other published fiction includes adaptations of stories originally told to his children and not directly related to Middle-earth.
Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein in the Orange Free State (today a part of South Africa), to Arthur Tolkien, an English bank manager in Africa on behalf of his employer, and his wife Mabel Tolkien (maiden name Suffield). As far as is known, most of Tolkien's paternal ancestors were craftsmen. The Tolkien family had its roots in Saxony ( Germany), but had been living in England since the 18th century. The surname Tolkien is anglicized from Tollkiehn (i.e. German tollkühn, "foolhardy"). The character of Professor Rashbold in The Notion Club Papers is a pun on the name. Tolkien only had one sibling, his brother Hilary Arthur Reuel Tolkien, who was born on February 17, 1894.
When he was three, Tolkien moved to England with his mother, who did not enjoy the African climate. They originally stayed with relatives at Bag End farm in Worcestershire, which was a likely inspiration for the Bag End in his books. His father, however, died in South Africa of a severe brain haemorrhage before he could join them. This left the family without an income, so Tolkien's mother took him to live with her parents in Birmingham for a short time. Soon after, in 1896, they moved to Sarehole, then a Warwickshire village, now part of Birmingham. He enjoyed exploring Sarehole Mill and Moseley Bog, which would later inspire scenes in the books.
Mabel tutored her two sons, and J.R.R. was a keen pupil. She taught him a great deal of botany, but his favourite lessons were those concerning languages, and his mother taught him the rudiments of Latin very early. He could read by the age of four, and could write fluently soon afterwards. He attended King Edward's School, Birmingham, St Phillip's School , and Exeter College, Oxford.
His mother converted to Roman Catholicism in 1900, despite vehement protests by her Baptist family. She died of diabetes in 1904, when Tolkien was 12, and he felt for the rest of his life that she had become a martyr for her faith; this had a profound effect on his own Catholic beliefs. Tolkien's devout faith was significant in the conversion of C. S. Lewis to Christianity, and his writings express Christian values and contain much Christian symbolism.
During his subsequent orphanhood he was brought up by Father Francis Xavier Morgan from the Birmingham Oratory , in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham. He lived there in the shadow of Perrott's Folly and the Victorian tower of Edgbaston waterworks, which possibly affected the images of the various dark towers within his works.
He met and fell in love with Edith Bratt (later to serve as his model for Lúthien), and despite many obstacles he succeeded in marrying her, the first and truest love of his life.
Tolkien joined the British Army during World War I and served in the Lancashire Fusiliers. Many of his fellow servicemen, as well as several of his closest friends, were killed in battles such as Somme, and he himself ended up in a military hospital suffering from trench fever.
During his recovery he began to work on what he called The Book of Lost Tales, a series of fairy tales based upon his love and studies of mythology and folklore. Tolkien scholars say that the war influenced his writings, in that he saw fantasy as a way to escape from the harsh reality of the industrialized and militaristic 20th century, though one has to remember that Tolkien expressed strong opposition to allegory in all its forms.
Tolkien's first civilian job after World War I was at the Oxford English Dictionary (among others, the entries for wasp and walrus are his). In 1920 he took up a post as Reader in English language at the University of Leeds, but in 1925 he returned to Oxford as a Professor of Anglo-Saxon. In 1945 he moved to Merton College, Oxford, becoming the Merton Professor of English Language and Literature, in which post he remained until his retirement in 1959.
Tolkien and Edith had four children: John Francis Reuel ( November 17, 1917), Michael Hilary Reuel ( October, 1920), Christopher Reuel ( 1924) and Priscilla Anne Reuel ( 1929).
Engraved on the stone at Wolvercote Cemetery, Oxford, where he and his wife are buried, are the names Beren and Lúthien, paying homage to one of the great love stories of Middle-earth.
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