TOLKIEN, J.R.R. (1892-1973). His heroes are rather short, rather stout, and have very furry feet. English author J.R.R. Tolkien's fantastic tales of battles between good and evil, including 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy, made hobbit a household word.

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, on Jan. 3, 1892, and moved at age 4 with his family to England, where he was educated at Exeter College, Oxford. He was a professor at Oxford from 1925 to 1959 and first gained recognition as a philologist, a person who studies the way language is used in literature. This work led him to help edit a version of the English fable 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight' that was published in 1925.

Tolkien not only studied fables; he created new ones of his own. He invented an imaginary land, Middle Earth, in meticulous detail: its language, its geography, and its exciting history. 'The Hobbit; or, There and Back Again', published in 1937, introduces readers to this special world as its inhabitants--elves, dwarfs, wizards, and the furry-footed hobbit Bilbo Baggins--fight and win against an evil dragon.

This story is continued in 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy (1954-55), consisting of 'The Fellowship of the Ring', 'The Two Towers', and 'The Return of the King'. These tales became immensely popular in the 1960s, especially among young adults. Another Tolkien book on Middle Earth, 'The Silmarillion', was published four years after his death in Bournemouth, England, on Sept. 2, 1973.

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Excerpted from The Complete Reference Collection

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