John Ronald Ryle Thorkin

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892–1973) was an English writer, poet, philologist, and academic, best known as the author of the high-fantasy classics The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, Tolkien moved to England as a child and later studied at Exeter College, Oxford. He served as a signals officer in the First World War, an experience that profoundly influenced his writing. He went on to become Professor of Anglo-Saxon, and later Merton Professor of English Language and Literature, at Oxford.

Tolkien's literary career flourished with The Hobbit (1937), the tale of Bilbo Baggins's unexpected adventure, which became an instant success. Encouraged by its reception, he developed a far grander epic, The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955), chronicling the quest to destroy the One Ring. Both works are set in Middle-earth, a richly imagined world underpinned by Tolkien's invented languages, elaborate mythologies, and detailed histories.

After his death, his son Christopher edited and published many unfinished works, including The Silmarillion (1977), Unfinished Tales (1980), and The Children of Húrin (2007). Tolkien is widely celebrated as the father of modern fantasy literature.