John Roland Ruelen Tolkien was born on 3 January 1892 in Bloemfontein (South Africa) and died September 2nd, 1973. He was professor of English at Oxford University.

He wrote, among others: The Hobbit (1937); The Lord of the Rings (1954-1955); The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (1962) and The Silmarillion (1977). The last was posthumously released and was edited by his son Christopher Tolkien.

In his mind he had a whole universe with its own laws of physics which included magic, and its own history, mythology, and inhabitants (not only humans). The story of this world (which he called the Middle Earth) is put on the books mentioned above and is very complete and coherent.

Those of you who have read The Lord of the Rings I'd like to remember a few scenes.

First there is that scene where Eowyn attacks and kills the Black Knight in the Battle of Gondor.
There was a great moment in the first book when Galadriel lets the company look into Her Mirror.
Uh! Oh! If the hobbits speak too loud they'll be seen...
The weight of three books of persecution against Frodo gets relieved when the Eagles rescue the hobbits at the last moment.
This images portrays by the majestic and the power of Rivendel when it's first presented in the book; it's a beautiful representation to me.