In what city was J.R.R. Tolkien born on 3 January 1892?

J.R.R. Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, in what was then the Orange Free State, on 3 January 1892.

His parents, Arthur Reuel Tolkien and Mabel Tolkien, were living there because Arthur worked as a bank manager. Tolkien spent his earliest childhood in southern Africa before moving to England with his mother and younger brother after his father died in 1896.

Tolkien is sometimes mistakenly described as English-born because he became closely associated with Oxford and English literature. His birthplace was instead Bloemfontein, although he spent most of his life in England and regarded English language and tradition as central to his work.

Bloemfontein is now the judicial capital of South Africa. Tolkien’s African birthplace is a biographical detail separate from the Middle-earth settings, which he based primarily on European languages, myths, landscapes, and literary traditions.