Which award did J.R.R. Tolkien receive in 1972 for his contributions to literature?

J.R.R. Tolkien was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1972.

The appointment made Tolkien a CBE, one of the classes of the Order of the British Empire. It recognized his contributions to literature and came near the end of his life, after the publication of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings had made him internationally famous.

Tolkien was not awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, although his work has frequently been discussed in relation to major literary honors. He also was not made a knight, so “Sir” is not part of his official name. His initials stand for John Ronald Reuel Tolkien.

The honor arrived one year before Tolkien’s death in 1973. By then, his academic reputation and his popular reputation had become closely linked: he was respected as a scholar of medieval languages and literature while also being celebrated as the creator of a large fictional mythology.