Where was J.R.R. Tolkien born?

J.R.R. Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, in what was then the Orange Free State.

Tolkien was born on 3 January 1892 to English parents, Arthur Reuel Tolkien and Mabel Tolkien. His father worked as a bank manager in Bloemfontein, and the family was living there because of his employment. Tolkien spent his earliest years in southern Africa before returning to England with his mother and younger brother.

The family moved to England in 1895, and Tolkien later grew up largely in the Birmingham area. Although he did not spend his childhood in South Africa, his birthplace is an important part of his biography and is frequently included in reference works about him.

Bloemfontein is now one of South Africa’s major cities and is the judicial capital of the country. Some readers mistakenly assume Tolkien was born in England because he became an English academic, writer, and philologist. His nationality, education, and career were English, but his birthplace was Bloemfontein.