J.R.R. Tolkien
  • Birthplace

    Bloemfontein, Orange Free State, South Africa

  • Birthday
    January 3, 1892

    Deathday
    February 9, 1973

J.R.R. Tolkien

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE (/ˈtɒlkiːn/ tol-keen; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high-fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.

He served as the Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon and Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford, from 1925 to 1945 and Merton Professor of English Language and Literature and Fellow of Merton College, Oxford from 1945 to 1959. He was at one time a close friend of C. S. Lewis - they were both members of the informal literary discussion group known as the Inklings. Tolkien was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II on 28 March 1972. After Tolkien's death, his son Christopher published a series of works based on his father's extensive notes and unpublished manuscripts, including The Silmarillion. These, together with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings form a connected body of tales, poems, fictional histories, invented languages, and literary essays about a fantasy world called Arda, and Middle-earth within it. Between 1951 and 1955, Tolkien applied the term legendarium to the larger part of these writings.  

While many other authors had published works of fantasy before Tolkien, the great success of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings led directly to a popular resurgence of the genre. This has caused Tolkien to be popularly identified as the "father" of modern fantasy literature - or, more precisely, of high fantasy. In 2008, The Times ranked him sixth on a list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945". Forbes ranked him the 5th top-earning "dead celebrity" in 2009. - Wikipedia

J.R.R. Tolkien awards and nominations
Year Category Subcategory Info Movie/Tv Series
2004 Hugo Awards Winner Hugo Best Dramatic Presentation - Long Form (Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, J.R.R. Tolkien) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2003 Hugo Awards Winner Hugo Best Dramatic Presentation - Long Form (Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Stephen Sinclair, J.R.R. Tolkien) The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
2002 Hugo Awards Winner Hugo Best Dramatic Presentation (Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, J.R.R. Tolkien, Barrie M. Osborne, Tim Sanders, Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Year Category Subcategory Info Movie/Tv Series
2013 Online Film & Television Association Nominee OFTA Film Award Best Music, Original Song (David Donaldson, David Long, Steve Roche, Janet Roddick, J.R.R. Tolkien, Richard Armitage, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen, Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton, Stephen Hunter, William Kircher, Graham McTavish, James Nesbitt, Dean O'Gorman, Ken Stott, Aidan Turner) The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
2004 USC Scripter Award Nominee USC Scripter Award (Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, J.R.R. Tolkien) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2003 USC Scripter Award Nominee USC Scripter Award (Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Stephen Sinclair, Peter Jackson, J.R.R. Tolkien) The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
2002 USC Scripter Award Nominee USC Scripter Award (Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, J.R.R. Tolkien) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
1979 Hugo Awards Nominee Hugo Best Dramatic Presentation (Ralph Bakshi, Peter S. Beagle, Chris Conkling, J.R.R. Tolkien) The Lord of the Rings
J.R.R. Tolkien profile photos