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 J.R.R. Tolkien
Author of The Lord of the Rings
Full Name: John Ronald Reuel Tolkien
Lifespan: January 3rd, 1892 - September 2nd, 1973
Nicknames: Ronald, John Ronald, J.R.R.T., and Tollers
Birthplace: Bloemfontein, South Africa
Height: Unknown
Weight: Unknown
Parents: Arthur Reuel Tolkien (died in 1896) and Mabel Suffield (died in 1904)
Siblings: Hilary Arthur Reuel
Hair color: Fair
Eye color: Blue
Marital status: Married Edith Bratt on March 22nd, 1916
Random Facts:
- At age 27, he started writing his diary entries in his own alphabet
- Even though his first name was John, he was almost always called Ronald
- Worked on New English Dictionary entries U-Z
- Disliked Shakespeare with a passion
- Always hated anything frence, including language and cooking
- Played rugby all through his school years
- Was bitten by a tarantula while in South Africa
- Was a skilled artist--his own drawings were published in The Hobbit, and his calligraphy was always elegant and adorned
- Tolkien and his wife are buried in the same grave. Below his name on the tombstone is inscribed "Beren" and below Edith's name is inscribed "Lúthien," in honor of two characters from The Silmarillion.
- By age 19, he was quite dedicated to smoking his pipe
- Tolkien is pronounced Tol-Keen with equal stress on both syllables
- As a child, Tolkien was fluent in German and Latin. He was also competent at a number of other languages like Gothic, and later Finnish.
- Created numerous school clubs, including T.C.B.S., the Apolausticks, and the Kolbítar
- Thought his friend C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia was silly and immature
- Met Edith, three years his senior, when he was sixteen
- His guardian banned him from seeing Edith until he had turned twenty-one (he was eighteen when the ban was enacted)
- After retirement Tolkien and his wife lived near Oxford, but then moved to Bournemouth.
- Tolkien got into the habit of writing the children annual illustrated letters as if from Santa Claus, and a selection of these was published in 1976 as The Father Christmas Letters.
- Served part-time duty as air raid warden during WWII
Site's to See
The Tolkien Society
J.R.R. Tolkien in Oxford
Tolkien.co.uk
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