Biography of Tolkien

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on January 3, 1892 in South Africa to English parents, Arthur and Mabel Tolkien.

As a child, Tolkien was bitten by a large spider and a house-boy "stole" him for a day to show off the beautiful baby. At the age of three, the family went on a family trip to England; however, Arthur died in Africa before he could join the family.

When Tolkien was 12, Mabel died, leaving her sons to a Fr. Francis Xavier Morgan (because her Baptist family stopped supporting Mabel and her sons when they converted to Catholicism).

At the age of 15, Tolkien met Edith Bratt and were married in January 1913. Tolkien fought in World War I, but was brought back invalided from trench fever. Edith, the source for Luthien in The Silmarillion, died in 1971. Tolkien was a codebreaker in World War II, and was appointed the title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.

Tolkien's children: John Tolkien (a priest; he died in 2003), Michael Reuel Tolkien (who died in 1984), Christopher Tolkien (who finished up The Silmarillion), and Priscilla Tolkien.

Tolkien died on September 2, 1973. He was a very devout Catholic.