In J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins is 111 years old at his eleventy-first birthday party.
The novel opens with Bilbo celebrating his birthday in Hobbiton. Tolkien uses the word “eleventy-first” for 111, giving the event a distinctly Hobbit-like form of counting and wordplay. Bilbo’s unusually long life is presented as remarkable, though not impossible by Hobbit standards.
The party also establishes Bilbo’s reputation for wealth, eccentricity, and mystery. During the celebration he uses the One Ring to disappear, then leaves the Shire and passes the Ring to Frodo. This transition launches the central events of both The Hobbit and, later, The Lord of the Rings.
A common mix-up is Bilbo’s age at the beginning of his adventure: he is 50 when he leaves with Thorin’s company, but he is 111 at the later birthday party that opens the book.