John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was the genius behind the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, The Children of Húrin and many more wonderful books! He was born on January 3, 1892 in Bloemfontein, South Africa. And died September 2, 1973 in Bournemouth, England at the age of 81.
He had one sibling: his younger brother, Hilary Arthur Reuel, who was born on February 17, 1894.
When he was a child, Tolkien was bitten by a baboon spider which some think to be the reason behind some of the happenings in his books. However, he claimed that he did not remember the incident and had no special hatred of spiders as an adult.
When he was young, Tolkien had a special interest in botany. He loved the look & feel of plants, as a result, he would draw them (see the gallery for some of his drawings). But here's something he loved even more: languages. So, his mother (who also taught him botany) taught him Latin at a young age. He could read at the age of four, and could write fluently soon afterwards!
Tolkien was a very strong Roman Catholic.* He was not born Catholic, but his mother came to the Faith despite her family's protests. After she was baptized, her family stopped financially supporting her (her husband had died of rheumatic fever some years before). Tolkien later writes:
"My own dear mother was a martyr indeed, and it is not to everybody that God grants so easy a way to his great gifts as he did to Hilary and myself, giving us a mother who killed herself with labour and trouble to ensure us keeping the faith."
In the year of 1911, Tolkien met Edith Mary Bratt, who was three years older than he. According to Humphrey Carpenter:
"Edith and Ronald took to frequenting Birmingham teashops, especially one which had a balcony overlooking the pavement. There they would sit and throw sugarlumps into the hats of passers-by, moving to the next table when the sugar bowl was empty. ... With two people of their personalities and in their position, romance was bound to flourish. Both were orphans in need of affection, and they found that they could give it to each other. During the summer of 1909, they decided that they were in love."
Tolkien married Edith on March 22, 1916. Eventually, Edith convert from Protestantism to Catholicism. In 1918, Edith had a son whose name was John Francis Reuel Tolkien.
After his wife's death in 1971, Tolkien remembered: "I never called Edith Luthien – but she was the source of the story that in time became the chief part of the Silmarillion. It was first conceived in a small woodland glade filled with hemlocks at Roos in Yorkshire (where I was for a brief time in command of an outpost of the Humber Garrison in 1917, and she was able to live with me for a while). In those days her hair was raven, her skin clear, her eyes brighter than you have seen them, and she could sing – and dance. But the story has gone crooked, & I am left, and I cannot plead before the inexorable Mandos."
Edith inspired the account of the meeting of Beren and Lúthien, and Tolkien often referred to Edith as "my Lúthien."
Tolkien fought in both World War 1 and World War 2.
*Note: I am Roman Catholic. Yes, Catholics are Christians . . . so get over it! (We are Christians because we believe in the Holy Trinity, That Jesus is God's Son and because we believe that Jesus rose from the dead on Easter Sunday.)
He had one sibling: his younger brother, Hilary Arthur Reuel, who was born on February 17, 1894.
When he was a child, Tolkien was bitten by a baboon spider which some think to be the reason behind some of the happenings in his books. However, he claimed that he did not remember the incident and had no special hatred of spiders as an adult.
When he was young, Tolkien had a special interest in botany. He loved the look & feel of plants, as a result, he would draw them (see the gallery for some of his drawings). But here's something he loved even more: languages. So, his mother (who also taught him botany) taught him Latin at a young age. He could read at the age of four, and could write fluently soon afterwards!
Tolkien was a very strong Roman Catholic.* He was not born Catholic, but his mother came to the Faith despite her family's protests. After she was baptized, her family stopped financially supporting her (her husband had died of rheumatic fever some years before). Tolkien later writes:
"My own dear mother was a martyr indeed, and it is not to everybody that God grants so easy a way to his great gifts as he did to Hilary and myself, giving us a mother who killed herself with labour and trouble to ensure us keeping the faith."
In the year of 1911, Tolkien met Edith Mary Bratt, who was three years older than he. According to Humphrey Carpenter:
"Edith and Ronald took to frequenting Birmingham teashops, especially one which had a balcony overlooking the pavement. There they would sit and throw sugarlumps into the hats of passers-by, moving to the next table when the sugar bowl was empty. ... With two people of their personalities and in their position, romance was bound to flourish. Both were orphans in need of affection, and they found that they could give it to each other. During the summer of 1909, they decided that they were in love."
Tolkien married Edith on March 22, 1916. Eventually, Edith convert from Protestantism to Catholicism. In 1918, Edith had a son whose name was John Francis Reuel Tolkien.
After his wife's death in 1971, Tolkien remembered: "I never called Edith Luthien – but she was the source of the story that in time became the chief part of the Silmarillion. It was first conceived in a small woodland glade filled with hemlocks at Roos in Yorkshire (where I was for a brief time in command of an outpost of the Humber Garrison in 1917, and she was able to live with me for a while). In those days her hair was raven, her skin clear, her eyes brighter than you have seen them, and she could sing – and dance. But the story has gone crooked, & I am left, and I cannot plead before the inexorable Mandos."
Edith inspired the account of the meeting of Beren and Lúthien, and Tolkien often referred to Edith as "my Lúthien."
Tolkien fought in both World War 1 and World War 2.
*Note: I am Roman Catholic. Yes, Catholics are Christians . . . so get over it! (We are Christians because we believe in the Holy Trinity, That Jesus is God's Son and because we believe that Jesus rose from the dead on Easter Sunday.)