JRR Tolkien is the famous author who wrote The Hobbit as well as The Lord of the Rings trilogy on which the blockbuster films are based.
He was born as John Ronald Reul Tolkien on 3 January 1892 in a place called Bloemfontein, South Africa.
When he was three, he and his mum moved to England.
But he had quite a sad childhood because his dad died when he was four. Then when he was 12, his mum died.
Because his parents had died, Tolkien and his brother were sent to live with their aunt in Birmingham.
Tolkien died in 1973, but his name lives through the millions who read his books worldwide.
Who was JRR Tolkien?
