J. R. R. Tolkien was not always the old Oxford professor, pipe in the mouth, refining his extraordinary work. In 1915, at age 23, he left for the front with his high school friends, whom he loved ...

J.R.R. Tolkien wrote more than just The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, but his Middle-earth books weren't released in chronological order.

For many of us, it began with a hole – a hobbit hole. But for J.R.R. Tolkien, he started elsewhere. Born on Jan. 3, 1892, in South Africa, Tolkien had a difficult childhood. While he may be b… ...

J. R. R. Tolkien enjoys a pipe in his study at Merton College, Oxford, December 2, 1955. (Haywood Magee/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Share 16 Comments Listen. By John Byron Kuhner.