Post #2976

🗓January 3 marks the birth of J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973), the legendary author of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. 📍 He was born in Bloemfontein, now the capital of South Africa’s Free State province and the country’s judicial capital 🇿🇦📚 👨‍💼 Tolkien’s father, Arthur Tolkien, worked as a banker and was transferred from the United Kingdom to Bloemfontein for career advancement. The family’s African servants considered baby John exceptionally handsome and admired him greatly. 👶 On one occasion, a servant named Isaak took the infant Tolkien to his kraal for the night to introduce him to his family. Years later, he named his first son Isaak Mister Tolkien Victor in the child’s honor. ✈️ When Tolkien was three, he traveled to England with his mother Mabel and younger brother Hilary. During their stay, Arthur Tolkien died in Bloemfontein from acute rheumatic fever. The family never returned to South Africa after his death. 🧠 Tolkien later said he remembered very little of his early years in South Africa. Biographers note that he retained a few words of Afrikaans, though he was not fluent. 🏨 Today, Bloemfontein proudly highlights its link to Tolkien. The four-star Hobbit Boutique Hotel promotes itself as his birthplace, features a commemorative plaque, and names all its rooms after characters from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. #Literature#Books#History#Tolkien#SouthAfrica#Africa