The Ultimate Book Bash: J. R. R. Tolkien Day

So. Last night I was thinking about the Book Bash and turning over an idea I've had for a while about really posting a whole bunch during the UBB. And I decided...well, it was like this. I thought to myself "You know what? We're just going to do this. I'm going to post six times a day for a week. I can do that." Yes I can. And here we go. Each day, Tuesday through Friday, will be for a specific author. Today's: J. R. R. Tolkien. If you have anything to post that has to do with him, now would be a great time. :)

Wednesday: Jane Austen (just for all you Austenites. :)
Thursday: L. M. Montgomery
Friday: C. S. Lewis

Feel free to post anything to do with the author on that day on your blog! And have fun!

Now, right here is our first post today about Tolkien.

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on January 3, 1892. He had one younger brother. In 1911, the census shows that he was going to school in Edgbaston (that's in England). That summer, he went on holiday to Switzerland, and there, he got his ideas for Bilbo's journey across the Misty Mountains. When he was 16, he had met Edith Mary Bratt, who he later married. There are some humorous stories from this time period in Tolkien's life, which you can read on Wikipedia. :)

Finally, he married Edith. Sometime after mid-1915, he entered the army. In 1916, he got trench fever, a disease carried by lice. After he returned from fighting there in World War I, he started working with Oxford English Dictionary. Right before World War II, the government considered Tolkien to be a code-breaker, and he entertained hopes of becoming one. However, the government didn't need him after all.

He had four children: John, Michael, Christopher (who did much work with his books after his death), and Priscilla.

The Lord of the Rings was published in 1954 and 1955. Various other books were published, with help from his son, after his death, including The Silmarillion.

He died at the age of 81 in 1973. His wife had died a few years earlier.

So ends our first Tolkien post! More coming!