John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (pron.: Tol-keen; equal stress on both syllables) was born 1892. He was a
scholar with a
special interest in
Old and
Middle English. And
twice he was
Professor of
Old English at the
University of Oxford.
He, Tolkien, and his
wife Edith had
three sons and one daughter. Their
first son John Francis Reuel was
born 16 November 1917. Their
second son Michael Hilary Reuel in October 1920. The
third and
last son Christopher Reuel was born in 1924. The last and
only female child, Priscilla, was
born 1929.
In adulthood John entered the
priesthood, Michael and Christopher both saw
war service in the
Royal Air Force. After the
war Michael
became a
schoolmaster and Christopher a
university lecturer, and Priscilla became a
social worker.
Tolkien
died on 2 September 1973. He and his
wife Edith are
buried together in the
Catholic section of Wolvercote
cemetery in the northern suburbs of
Oxford.
See also: Lord of the Rings,
The Hobbit