This is a chronology of real-world events. For a Middle-earth timeline, see Timeline of Arda
- 1892 — John Ronald Reuel Tolkien is born on January 3, in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
- 1916 — J.R.R. Tolkien marries Edith Bratt on March 22. In June, he is assigned to the Lancaster Fusiliers and sent to France.
- 1917 — Edith Tolkien gives birth to John.
- 1918 — First draft of "The Fall of Gondolin" is completed.
- 1920 — Edith Tolkien gives birth to Michael.
- 1921 — J.R.R. Tolkien begins teaching at the University of Leeds.
- 1924 — Edith Tolkien gives birth to Christopher. J.R.R. accepts a position as Professor of English Language at Leeds.
- 1925 — July - J.R.R. Tolkien is elected to the Rawlinson and Bosworth Chair of Anglo-Saxon in the University of Oxford. He is admitted to a non-stipendiary professorial fellowship at Pembroke College in October 1926. His edition (with E.V. Gordon) of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is published.
- 1926 — The Tolkiens move into 22 Northmoor Rd, Oxford in January. J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis first meet.
- Sometimes in the late 1920s—Tolkien writes the words "In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit" on the back of a term paper. He does not know what they mean.
- 1929 — Edith Tolkien gives birth to Priscilla.
- 1933 — The first stories of a hobbit named Bilbo appear at the Tolkien house.
- 1936 — J.R.R. Tolkien completes The Hobbit and delivers it to Stanley Unwin. He also delivers his seminal lecture, Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics to the British Association.
- 1937 — The Hobbit is published by Allen & Unwin.
- 1938 — J.R.R. Tolkien writes "Leaf by Niggle."
- 1939 — J.R.R. Tolkien delivers his lecture, "On Fairy-Stories."
- 1945 — "Leaf by Niggle" is published. J.R.R. Tolkien is elected to the Merton Chair of English Language and Literature in the University of Oxford.
- 1949 — Farmer Giles of Ham is published.
- 1954 — The Lord of the Rings is published. Only the first two volumes, The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, are released this year.
- 1955 — The final volume of The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, is published.
- 1956 — The BBC produces a 13-part radio adaptation of The Lord of the Rings.
- 1959 — J.R.R. Tolkien retires his professorship at Oxford.
- 1962 — The Adventures of Tom Bombadil is published.
- 1964 — Tree and Leaf, a single edition of both "Leaf by Niggle" and "On Fairy-Stories," is published.
- 1965 — American paperback edition of The Lord of the Rings is published.
- 1966 — The Tolkien Reader is published.
- 1967 — Publication of both The Road Goes Ever On and Smith of Wotton Major.
- 1968 — BBC radio broadcasts an eight-part (4-hour) adaptation of The Hobbit. Tolkien originally sold the film, stage and merchandise rights of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings to United Artists but nothing came of it. The Tolkien family moves to Poole near Bournesmouth.
- 1969 — Bored of the Rings is published.
- 1971 — Edith Tolkien dies on November 29.
- 1972 — J.R.R. Tolkien named CBE by Queen Elizabeth II.
- 1973 — J.R.R. Tolkien dies on September 2.
- 1976 — The rights to The Lord of the Rings are sold to Tolkien Enterprises, a division of the Saul Zaentz Company.
- 1977 — The Silmarillion is published posthumously, edited by Christopher Tolkien. Canadian author Guy Gavriel Kay is credited with assisting Christopher. Rankin-Bass studios produced the first real film adaptation of any of Tolkien's works with an animated television version of The Hobbit.
- 1978 — Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings animated film is released by United Artists.
- 1979 — A Tolkien Bestiary by David Day is published.
- 1980 — Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth, a collection of essays about Middle-earth edited by Christopher Tolkien, is published. Animated television version of The Return of the King airs.
- 1981 — BBC broadcasts a new, ambitious dramatization of The Lord of the Rings in 26 half-hour installments. The original publication of Karen Wynn Fonstad's The Atlas of Middle-earth. The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien are first published in book form.
- 1982 — Mr. Bliss is published.
- 1984 — The Book of Lost Tales, Part I is published, the first volume of The History of Middle-earth and The Book of Lost Tales 2.
- 1985 — The Lays of Beleriand is published.
- 1986 — The Shaping of Middle-earth: The Quenta, The Ambarkanta, and The Annals is published.
- 1987 — The Lost Road and Other Writings is published.
- 1989 — The Return of the Shadow and The Treason of Isengard are published.
- 1990 — The War of the Ring is published.
- 1991 — A revised addition of Karen Wynn Fonstad's The Atlas of Middle-earth is published.
- 1992 — Sauron Defeated is published.
- 1993 — J.R.R. Tolkien: A Descriptive Bibliography and Morgoth's Ring are published.
- 1994 — The War of the Jewels is published.
- 1996 — The Peoples of Middle-earth is published.
- 1998 — Roverandom is finally published.
- 2000 — The Lord of the Rings (board game) was published.
- 2001 — The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the first of three motion films directed by Peter Jackson, premieres on December 19.
- 2002 — The Complete Tolkien Companion and The History of Middle-earth: Index, the last in the The History of Middle-earth are published. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers premieres on December 18.
- 2003 — Fell Beasts and Wondrous Magic and Quettaparma are published. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King premieres on December 17.
- 2004 — The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King receives 11 Oscars, including Best Picture.
- 2005 — Walking with Bilbo is published.
- 2007 — The History of The Hobbit: Mr Baggins and Return to Bag-End and Christopher Tolkien's The Children of Hurin are published.
- 2008 — Of Words and Worlds is published.
- 2012 — The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first film in a trilogy adaptation of The Hobbit by Peter Jackson, is released.
- 2013 — The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is released.
- 2014 — The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five armies is released.
- 2017 — Beren and Lúthien is published by Christopher Tolkien.
- 2018 — The Fall of Gondolin, the last of the Great Tales, is published by Christopher Tolkien.
- 2043 — Tolkien's published works will remain copyrighted until this year.