John Ronald Reuel Tolkien a South African Celebrity You Didn’t Know

J.R.R. TOLKIEN

The author of the beloved Lord of the Rings series J.R.R. Tolkien, or John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, is known for being a famous English poet and writer. However, he was actually born in Bloemfontein, South Africa to English parents, Arthur Tolkien and Mabel Suffield. When he was three, he went to visit family in England with his mother. His father stayed in South Africa during the visit and died from rheumatic fever. Since then, the long visit turned into J.R.R. Tolkien growing up in England for the rest of his life.