J.R.R. Tolkien

Even though we discussed a little bit of Tolkien's life in class, I was intriguied and decided to do some further research on his life. He was born in 1892 under the name John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. When he was a young child, he was bitten by a baboon spider. It's probable that the spider in "The Hobbit" evolved from this childhood memory. Also contributing to his laters works is the exploring that he did as a young child as well as the fact that he learned Latin at a very young age and could read at the age of four- he particularly enjoyed works by George MacDonald. When he was sixteen, he met his future wife but was to see her until he turned 21 because she was Protestant and he was Catholic. When he finally did turn 21, she had become engaged to another man. However, upon his confession of love to her she returned the ring, converted to Catholism, and they wed. Tolkien was a professor at Oxford. While he was there, he was involved in a literary "club" while he was a professor at Oxford called "Inklings." Many other notable authors were involved in this club, including C.S. Lewis, author of "The Chronicles of Narnia" and "Mere Christianity."