What year was 'The Hobbit' first published?

'The Hobbit' was first published in 1937.

J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel, originally titled 'The Hobbit, or There and Back Again', was published in the United Kingdom by George Allen & Unwin on September 21, 1937. The first printing consisted of 1,500 copies and sold out by December after receiving enthusiastic reviews. Tolkien created the illustrations and designed the original dust jacket himself.

The story follows Bilbo Baggins, a comfort-loving hobbit who joins Gandalf and thirteen dwarves on a quest to reclaim their homeland and treasure from the dragon Smaug. It introduced readers to Middle-earth before Tolkien's later 'The Lord of the Rings'.

The year is sometimes confused with the publication dates of Tolkien's other major works. The first volume of 'The Lord of the Rings', 'The Fellowship of the Ring', appeared in 1954, while revised editions of 'The Hobbit' followed in later decades. Those later dates do not change the novel's original publication year: 1937.