For many of us, it began with a hole - a hobbit hole. But for J.R.R. Tolkien, he started elsewhere. Born on Jan. 3, 1892, in South Africa, Tolkien had a difficult childhood. While he may be best known for his creation of the cultural phenomenons that are 'The Hobbit' and 'Lord of the Rings,' this author wasn't just a talented writer. A gifted linguist, professor, and veteran, Tolkien was a man of many talents and of many passions before his death on Sept. 2, 1973. Explore these interesting facts about his life and career.
His father died when he was four and his mother died when he was 12–he and his brother then had a guardian in the form of a family friend, a Catholic priest named Father Francis Xavier Morgan.
Despite having completed a translation of the poem “Beowulf” in 1926, it wouldn’t be in 2014 that it was published. He has said that “Beowulf” influenced his writings of “The Hobbit” and “Lord of the Rings.”
Nicholas Hoult, left, and Lily Collins in “Tolkien.” As a soldier during World War 1, Tolkien developed a secret code to update his wife about his location so as to not tip off the British army (or the enemy) as soldiers were not allowed to write to relatives about where they were posted. Nicholas Hoult and Lily Collins played J.R.R. Tolkien and his wife Edith, which features his time during the war as pictured above.
When World War II began, Tolkien was recruited into the cryptography department as a code breaker due to his work with languages, but he was never called into action.
Tolkien worked for the Oxford English Dictionary working on the etymologies of the words ranging from ‘waggle’ to ‘warlock.’ He seemed to have a particularly difficult time with the word ‘walrus.’
Tolkien considered himself a hobbit: small, in love with good food, and smoked a pipe. He even wore waistcoats.
Bag End is a real place–the home of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins was actually named after Tolkien’s aunt’s home where he spent time in his youth.
Tolkien was an established polyglot–both in real and fictional languages. He spoke 15 languages, including Old Norse, Spanish, Old English, and a working knowledge of Finnish, which he taught himself. He also developed 15 different dialects for Elvish for his “The Hobbit” and “Lord of the Rings” series, to name a few.
His son, Christopher Tolkien, would go on to release his unfinished works after his death, including “The History of Middle Earth” which he compiled from about 70 boxes of material he left behind.
The Nazis had an affinity with Tolkien and his academic writings relating to Old Norse. When “The Hobbit” was being sent for publishing in Germany, Tolkien wrote a nasty letter to the publishers when they asked if he had any Jewish blood in him, to which he responded that he regretted not having Jewish ancestry. He even called Adolf Hitler a “ruddy little ignoramus.”
