Facts about J.R.R. Tolkien

1. 05

   A devout Roman Catholic, J.R.R. Tolkien is widely credited with influencing his close friend C.S. Lewis toward Christianity.

   J.R.R. TolkienMay 17sharereligionfriendshipliterature
2. 04

   The Lord of the Rings, published by J.R.R. Tolkien in 1954–1955, has sold over 150 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling novels ever written.

   J.R.R. TolkienMay 17shareliteraturepublishingfantasy
3. 03

   Oxford professor J.R.R. Tolkien held the Rawlinson and Bosworth Professorship of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University, a prestigious academic chair he occupied for over two decades.

   J.R.R. TolkienMay 17shareacademialiteraturehistory
4. 02

   Tolkien's invented languages, particularly Quenya and Sindarin, drew inspiration from Finnish and Welsh phonetics respectively, with construction beginning decades before he wrote The Hobbit in 1937.

   J.R.R. TolkienMay 14sharelanguagelinguisticscreation
5. 01

   During World War I, Tolkien served as a lieutenant in the Lancashire Fusiliers and survived the Battle of the Somme in 1916.

   J.R.R. TolkienMay 14sharemilitaryhistorybiography