J. R. R. Tolkien
![](/Images/godic/202501/21/Tolkien_19164113.jpg")
![1892 Christmas card with a coloured photo of the Tolkien family in Bloemfontein, sent to relatives in Birmingham, England](/Images/godic/202501/21/Mabel_Suffield_Christmas_Card4113.jpg")
![Birmingham Oratory, where Tolkien was a parishioner and altar boy, (1902–1911)](/Images/godic/202501/21/BirminghamOratoryDome4113.jpg")
![King Edward's School in Birmingham, where Tolkien was a student (1900–1902, 1903–1911)[27]](/Images/godic/202501/21/KES_Free_Grammar_School_Charles_Barry4113.jpg")
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien CBEFRSL (/ˈtɒlkiːn/; 3 January 1892 –2 September 1973), known professionally as J. R. R. Tolkien, was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor who is best known as the author of the classic high-fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.