J.R.R. Tolkien published The Hobbit in 1937.
The children's fantasy novel was released by George Allen & Unwin on 21 September 1937. Its full title is The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, and it introduced readers to Bilbo Baggins, the hobbit who leaves the Shire on an adventure with Thorin Oakenshield's company.
The book became successful before Tolkien completed The Lord of the Rings. Its publisher asked for a sequel, which grew into a much larger and more serious story. Tolkien drew on Germanic and Northern European mythology, Old English literature, and his own invented languages and history.
A common mix-up is confusing the publication year with the dates of later editions. The Hobbit was revised in 1951, partly to make its connection with The Lord of the Rings more consistent, but the original novel appeared in 1937.