Born: 3 January 1892 · Died: 2 September 1973 · Age at death: 81
How old was J. R. R. Tolkien when he died?
J. R. R. Tolkien died aged 81. He was born on 3 January 1892 and died on 2 September 1973.
Oxford professor who wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, creating Middle-earth and shaping modern fantasy
Did you know?He was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University and invented several complete languages before he began writing his stories.
Quick facts
Date of birth3 January 1892
Date of death2 September 1973
Age at death81
Cause of deathBronchopneumonia, ulcer
NationalityBritish
BirthplaceBloemfontein, South Africa
Occupationlinguist, poet, university teacher
Editor's Take:
Tolkien created the blueprint for modern fantasy, and almost every fantasy world since owes something to his Middle-earth. He built his stories around the languages he invented, then imagined the peoples who might speak them and the histories they would have. His experience as a soldier in the Battle of the Somme deeply shaped the darkness and loss in The Lord of the Rings. He was part of the Inklings, an Oxford writers' group that also included C.S. Lewis. His books have sold in the hundreds of millions and inspired one of the most successful film series ever made.
Key Milestones
1916: Serves at the Battle of the Somme
1925: Becomes Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford
1937: Publishes The Hobbit
1954: Publishes the first volumes of The Lord of the Rings
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and academic philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955).
J. R. R. Tolkien's birthday is January 3. He was born on January 3, 1892 in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
How old was J. R. R. Tolkien when he died?
J. R. R. Tolkien died on September 2, 1973, aged 81.
Who shares a birthday with J. R. R. Tolkien?
Famous people who share J. R. R. Tolkien's January 3 birthday include Michael Schumacher, Greta Thunberg, Mel Gibson, Clement Attlee and Sofia Kovalevskaya.
