Sméagol was the original name of J.R.R. Tolkien’s character who later became known as Gollum. He belonged to a river-dwelling people related to the Hobbits and lived during the Third Age.
On his birthday, Sméagol went fishing with his cousin Déagol. Déagol discovered the One Ring in the River Anduin, and Sméagol murdered him to take it. His people eventually expelled him because of his secrecy, possessiveness, and harmful behavior.
Sméagol retreated beneath the Misty Mountains, where the Ring prolonged his life and gradually transformed him. He came to be called Gollum because of the strange throat sounds he made. Centuries later, Bilbo Baggins encountered him in the tunnels and won the Ring through a contest of riddles.
Readers sometimes confuse Sméagol with Déagol, the cousin who finds the Ring, or with Gollum’s later identity. Sméagol is the character’s birth name; Gollum is the name associated with his corrupted existence.