John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on the third of January 1892 in South Africa that was at the

time a British colony, and died on the second of September 1973 in Bournemouth, in the south of England. He studied philology at the Exeter College, in the Oxford University and later he became a professor of Anglo-Saxon at the same university. He served in the British army during the First World War, and worked as a code breaker in the Second World War. In 1972, Tolkien was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire by the Queen Elizabeth II. During his life he published two works: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings made up of three books: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and the Return of the King. After his death his son Christopher Tolkien published three books: The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales of Nmenor and Middle-Earth, and the Children of Hrin. He included in his books the languages that he invented: the Quenya and the Sindarin. The action of the books takes place in Middle-Earth, a fictional continent. His most famous work was the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and to his success contributed his knowledge of the ancient languages and history. In 2001, 2002, and 2003 Peter Jackson directed the three movies of the Lord of the Rings trilogy wining several Oscars, including the best picture of the year, with the Return of the King. And in 2012, 2013, and 2014 he is going to direct The Hobbit.