J.R.R. Tolkien was born in which present-day country?

J.R.R. Tolkien was born in South Africa. He was born John Ronald Reuel Tolkien in Bloemfontein on 3 January 1892, when the city was in the Orange Free State.

Tolkien’s father, Arthur, worked in Bloemfontein, while his mother, Mabel, cared for Tolkien and his younger brother, Hilary. After Arthur died in 1896, Mabel moved the family to England, where Tolkien spent most of his childhood and adult life.

The South African setting is an important biographical detail, but Tolkien’s literary identity is mainly associated with England and the languages and mythologies of northern Europe. He later studied at Oxford, served in the British Army during the First World War, and became an Oxford academic. Confusion can arise because Tolkien’s family background and education were English even though his birthplace was in southern Africa.