J. R. R. Tolkien

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on the 3rd of January 1892, in Bloemfontein, South Africa. He was the author of the high fantasy works The Hobbit or There and Back Again and The Lord of the Rings. His father was a bank manager in South Africa and died when he was four years old. Tolkien’s mother, Mabel, converting to Catholicism despite opposition from her family members, brought about the backlash, but she did not consent. After the death of his father, Tolkien settled in Birmingham with his brother and mother.  His mother valued her religion and was determined to raise all her children in the catholic faith. After her death, Tolkien and his sibling became a ward of a Catholic priest.

Career and Education

Tolkien excelled in modern and classical languages at King Edward School in Birmingham. He later attended Exeter College in Oxford, where he studied Old and classic English, Germanic languages, Finis, and Welsh. He became a philosopher and developed his language. His first Poem was published in 1913, known as Many-willow’d margin.

He worked at the University of Leeds teaching literature and English Language, and he served the British Army during World War 1. After World War 1, he became a staff of the Oxford English Dictionary and held roles in many other Universities.

His third son Christopher Tolkien helped a lot in editing most of his works, and a legal body known as Tolkien estate manages the properties of the English writer.

J. R. R. Tolkien is one of the world’s most renowned writers. He has inspired a lot of people and won numerous awards including:

• Lucas Award for the best fantasy novel (1978)
• Hugo Award for best dramatic presentation (2002)
• Mythopoeic fantasy award (1981)
• Prometheus hall of fame award (2009)
• Hugo Award for best dramatic presentation (2004, 2003)
• Nebula award for the best script (2003 -2005)
• International fantasy award for fiction (1957)
• Goodreads Choice Awards Best poetry (2013)
• Gandalf award for book-length fantasy (1978)
• Gandalf grandmaster award (1974)

Marriage and Death

After the death of his mother, Mabel, Tolkien fell in love with another orphan named Edith Bratt. He met her at the age of 16, but his guardian did not approve of their relationship, so he waited till the age of 21 to ask her for marriage. His guardian was against the relationship because he felt she was dragging Tolkien away from his education. He also couldn’t stand the fact that Edith was older than Tolkien and was also a protestant. Edith was three years older than Tolkien, but their romance flourished greatly. Both of them were orphans, and they gave each other the affection needed to carry on in life.

Ronald Tolkien and Edith Bratt became formally engaged at Birmingham in January 1913. They got married on 22^nd March 1916 at the Immaculate Roman Catholic Church, Warwick. Ronald Tolkien died on September 1973 at the age of 81 two years after the death of his wife.