Young J.R.R. Tolkien

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, best known as J.R.R. Tolkien, was a writer, poet, and academic likely best remembered by most for his high fantasy works The Hobbit (published in 1937) and The Lord of the Rings (published in 1954). John Tolkien's parents were Arthur Reuel Tolkien (1857 -1896) and Mabel Suffield (1870 - 1904). He had one brother, Hilary Arthur Reuel Tolkien, born 1894 in South Africa. Born in South Africa where his father was a bank manager, Tolkien moved to England with his mother when he was 3. He was home schooled by her until she died when he was 12. His father had died earlier, leaving him and his younger brother orphans. After that, the boys were raised by a Catholic priest and were sent to King Edward's School and later, Oxford. He went on to marry and have four children. John Tolkien married Edith Mary Bratt (1889 - 1971) on March 22, 1916, in Warwick, Warwickshire, England, in St. Mary Immaculate Roman Catholic Church. They had three sons: John Francis (1917 - 2003), Michael Hilary (1920 - 1984), and Christopher (born 1924) and one daughter, Priscilla (1929 - 2022). J.R.R. Tolkien (1892 - 1973) wrote books and poetry, as well as being a distinguished Professor at Oxford University. Best known for "The Hobbit" published in 1937, and "The Lord of the Rings" published during the years of 1954 - 1955, his son Christopher posthumously gathered his old notes and manuscripts to create "The Silmarillion", which had 5 parts. A friend of C. S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien is credited with being the father of "high fantasy".