J.R.R. Tolkien
From Metapedia
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (January 3, 1892 – September 2, 1973) was an English writer, poet, and professor, known for his literary works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
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[edit] Early Life
Tolkien was born in the Orange Free State South Africa. His father, Arthur, was an English bank manager who emigrated to South Africa after accepting a promotion with the bank he worked for. In 1895 Tolkien and his mother Mabel traveled to England for a short vacation, but during this trip his father died of Rheumatic fever. With limited monies, he and his mother moved to a family member's house in the area of Birmingham. These locations would inspire Tolkien in many of his works.
1904 saw Tolkien's mother pass away from complication of acute Diabetes when he was age 12. After his mother's death, Tolkien was raised by a Catholic family and lodged at Perrot's Folly with its gloomy waterworks tower, a scene that would prevail throughout his Lord of the Rings scenery. In 1911 he took a trip to Switzerland and hiked through the Swiss Alps, another journey depicted in the LOTR novels, when Bilbo travels across the Misty Mountains. Tolkien enrolled in Oxford University and graduated with a degree in English Language, in 1915 and in 1916 he married a Protestant girl, Edith on his 21st birthday.
[edit] World War I
In 1916,Tolien enlisted in the English Army and was assigned to the Lancashire Fusiliers and was sent to France on June 4 1916. His unit was involved in the Battle of the Somme where he was a communication officer and contracted Trench Fever and was deemed unfit for combat and sent home to England on November 8 1916.
[edit] Post War
Tolkien's first civilian job was working at Oxford English Dictionary where he worked mainly on the history and etymology of words of Germanic origin beginning with the letter W and in 1920 began a career as a Professor at Leeds University, and during this time he wrote The Hobbit. Tolkien was also involved in writing pieces on Beowulf.
[edit] Friendships and Children
C.S. Lewis was a friend of Tolkien since his Oxford days, and Tolkien had 4 children:
- John Francis Reuel (17 November 1917 – 22 January 2003)
- Michael Hilary Reuel (22 October 1920 – 27 February 1984)
- Christopher John Reuel (born 21 November 1924) Made maps for the LOTR
- Priscilla Mary Anne Reuel (born 18 June 1929)
[edit] Politics
He voiced support for Francisco Franco's Falangist regime during the Spanish Civil War upon learning that Republican death squads were destroying churches and killing large numbers of priests and nuns. He also expressed admiration for the South African poet, fellow Catholic, and Fascist sympathizer Roy Campbell after a 1944 meeting. Since Campbell had served with Franco's armies in Spain, Tolkien regarded him as a defender of the Catholic faith, while C. S. Lewis composed poetry openly satirising Campbell's "mixture of Catholicism and Fascism"
[edit] Death
Edith Tolkien died on November 21 1971, at the age of eighty-two. Tolkien had the name Lúthien engraved on the stone at Wolvercote Cemetery, Oxford. When Tolkien died twenty-one months later on September 2 1973, at the age of eighty-one, he was buried in the same grave, with Beren added to his name.
