The Tolkien Timeline: The Early Years (1892

The Early Years (1892 - 1916)

Tolkien's life, from childhood to marriage. A somewhat unhappy, disiplined time, but one which no doubt shaped the greatness of this man.

January 31, 1892	John Ronald Reuel Tolkien is christened in the Bloemfontein Cathedral [BIO 13]
February 17, 1894	Hilary Arthur Reuel Tolkien, younger brother to JRRT, is born in Bloemfontein, South Africa [BIO 14]
April 1895	Mabel Tolkien boards the SS Guelph and returns to Birmingham, England with her two children, John and Hilary. Arthur Tolkien remains in South Africa with plans to join his family when time permits. [BIO 15; RELATION 7 puts this date at 1896; TTIE 10]
February 15, 1896	Arthur Tolkien dies in Bloemfontein, South Africa, as a result of a severe hemorrhage suffered the previous day. He had been sick for many months with rheumatic fever, and never made the trip to Birmingham to see his family. [BIO 16]
1896	Mabel Tolkien moves her family from Birmingham to the hamlet of Sarehole. [BIO 20]
Autumn 1899	JRRT, at the age of 7, takes the entrance exam for King Edwards School, but fails to obtain a place. [BIO 24]
June 1900	Mabel Tolkien and her sister May Incledon are received into the Church of Rome, bringing about the wrath and opposition of their strongly Baptist relatives. [BIO 23-24]
September 1900	Tolkien retakes the entrance exam for King Edward's, and is accepted. [BIO 24]
Late 1900	The Tolkiens move from Sarehole to Moseley to be closer to Birmingham and King Edwards School. [BIO 24]
1901	The Tolkiens move again, from Moseley to a small villa behind King's Heath Station. [BIO 25]
Early 1902	Mabel Tolkien again moves her family, from King's Heath to a house in Edgbaston next door to the Birmingham Oratory and the Grammar School of St. Philip. To save money, Mabel removes the boys from King Edwards and enrolls them in St. Philips. [BIO 26, 27]
Autumn 1903	JRRT wins a Foundation Scholarship to King Edwards, and returns there to continue his studies. [BIO 27]
November 14, 1904	Mabel Tolkien, age 34, dies after six days in a diabetic coma [BIO 30; RELATION 9 puts this date at 1910; TTIE 10]
Nov./Dec. 1904	Ronald & Hilary move in with their Aunt, Beatrice Suffield [BIO 32]
Late 1904, Early 1905	After the death of his mother, the guardianship of Tolkien and his brother Hilary is taken over by Father Francis Xavier Morgan, a priest of the Birmingham Oratory
Early 1908	Ronald and Hilary move to 37 Duchess Road, behind the Birmingham Oratory, into a room let by a Mrs. Faulkner.
Early 1908	J.R.R Tolkien begins his first term at Oxford [TTIE 10]
December 17, 1910	Tolkien is awarded an Open Classical Exhibition to Exeter College [BIO 49]
1913	Tolkien takes the Honours Moderations exams [TTIE 11]
1915	Awarded First Class Honours degree in English Language and Literature [RELATION 11; TTIE 11]
1915	Commissioned in the Lancashire Fusiliers [TTIE 11]
March 22, 1916	John Ronald Reuel Tolkien marries Edith Bratt [RELATION 11; TTIE 11]

The full bibliography explains the abbreviated references used in this document.