John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973) was born on this day in Bloemfontein, South Africa and is best known for creating the fantasy worlds of The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings trilogy (1954-55).

"Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens," he wrote in The Lord of the Rings.

An Oxford professor of medieval literature, Tolkien masterfully crafted the Middle-Earth adventures of furry-footed Bilbo Baggins and his nephew Frodo, a mythical world of elves, dwarfs, gods, and dragons based on Anglo-Saxon and Norse folklore. Tolkien's driving passion was to create "fairy stories" so complete in detail, philosophy, and character to be "real."

A perfectionist who revised, corrected, and improved, he worked on The Lord of the Rings (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King) for over 10 years. 

At first the beloved trilogy was refused by publishers. Poet W. H. Auden responded to Tolkien's critics, warning, "If someone dislikes it I shall never trust their literary judgment about anything again."

Tolkien acknowledged those who claimed his writing was difficult to understand and explained, "I am told that I talk in shorthand and then smudge it."

The Lord of the Rings has sold over 50 million copies worldwide in 25 different languages and inspired Gary Gygax' creation of the role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons.

The book also inspired the #1 hit film, the first of an unprecedented three features shot simultaneously in 274 days spread over 15 months at a cost of nearly $300 million. The last installment, The Return of the King, grossed an incredible $600 million worldwide in its first two weeks of release.

...It was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort...