J.R.R. Tolkien was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1972.
Queen Elizabeth II appointed Tolkien a CBE in the 1972 New Year Honours. CBE stands for Commander of the Order of the British Empire, one of the grades in the British honours system. The appointment recognized his major contribution to literature and public cultural life.
Tolkien had already achieved worldwide fame through The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The honour came near the end of his life: he died in 1973, less than a year after receiving it. He had retired from his Oxford professorship in 1959 but continued to work with his papers and mythology.
The CBE is sometimes confused with a knighthood. Tolkien was not knighted; CBE is a different rank in the order. His literary reputation continued to grow after the honour, especially through later editions, translations and adaptations.