Bio

John Ronald Reuel (called Ronald by family) was born on the 3rd of January 1892 in Bloemfontein, South Africa. Although both of Tolkiens parents were originally from Birmingham, Tolkien's father, Arthur, moved to South Africa in the early 1890's. In 1896 Arthur died and the family moved back. Tolkien started attended school at King Edward's School in Birmingham when he was eight. In 1904, his mother was diagnosed with diabetes and died leaving both he and his brother orphaned. The priest at Birmingham Oratory became their guardian. While living at the Birmingham Oratory and at the early age of sixteen, Tolkien met Edith Pratt whom he would later marry. She was three years older than him and the priest forbade that he should see or write to her until he was twenty-one. The two were finally married in 1916.

Tolkien joined the army and left for France to fight in WWI. After the war he attended college at Oxford University where he gained a first class degree in English Language and Literature. From 1925 to 1945 he worked as a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College. During this time, he wrote many of his famous works. In 1959 he retired where at that time he had been working as the Merton Professor of English Language and Literature. In 1966 he and his wife moved to Bournemouth. Edith died in 1971 and Tolkien died on September 2nd, 1973.