Which fictional hobbit is the central character of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit?

Bilbo Baggins is the central character of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.

Bilbo begins the story as a comfort-loving hobbit living at Bag End in Hobbiton. The wizard Gandalf and thirteen dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield, draw him into a quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug.

During the journey, Bilbo finds the One Ring in the Misty Mountains after encountering Gollum. His discovery becomes a crucial link between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, although the Ring's significance is developed more fully in the later work.

Bilbo is Frodo Baggins's older cousin and adoptive guardian, not the same character. Frodo becomes the principal Ring-bearer in The Lord of the Rings. Bilbo's birthday party, held after his eleventy-first birthday, opens the main narrative of that later novel.