Reading: Famous British People

J. R. R. Tolkien

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (January 3, 1892–September 2, 1973) was the author of The Hobbitand its sequel The Lord of the Rings, his most famous work.

A former pupil of King Edward's School, Birmingham, he worked as Professor of Anglo-Saxon at the University of Oxford from 1925 to 1945, and as Professor of English Language and Literature, also at Oxford, from 1945 to 1959.

He was an eminently distinguished lexicographer and an expert in Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse. He belonged to the literary discussion group the Inklings, through which he enjoyed a close friendship with C. S. Lewis.

In addition to the The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien's published fiction includes a number of posthumous books about the history of the imaginary world of Middle-earth, where his stories take place.

The enduring popularity and influence of these works have established Tolkien as the father of the modern high fantasy genre. Tolkien's other published fiction includes adaptations of stories originally told to his children and not directly related to Middle-earth.

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge KG FRS (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the elder son of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales, and third eldest grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

He is second in the line of succession, behind his father, to the thrones of sixteen independent sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. Consequently, he is also second in line, again behind his father, to the position of Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

He was educated at four schools in the United Kingdom and obtained a degree from the University of St Andrews. He spent parts of a gap year in Chile, Belize, and countries in Africa. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Blues and Royals regiment of the Household Cavalry—serving with his brother Prince Harry—and, two years later, earned his wings by completing pilot training at Royal Air Force College Cranwell.

In 2009, the Prince transferred to the Royal Air Force, was promoted to flight lieutenant and underwent helicopter flying training in order to become a full time pilot with the Search and Rescue Force. In Autumn 2010, he completed his general and special-to-type helicopter training and he is now at RAF Valley on No. 22 Squadron performing co-pilot duties on the Sea King search and rescue helicopter. Prince William married his long-term girlfriend Catherine (Kate) Middleton on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey. Hours prior to his wedding Prince William was created Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus.