Christopher Tolkien, the son of Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien, has passed away."Christopher Tolkien has died at the age of 95," The Tolkien Society tweeted. "The Tolkien Society sends its deepest condolences to Baillie, Simon, Adam, Rachel and the whole Tolkien family."
While serving in the Royal Air Force during World War II, Tolkien would receive chapters of the still-in-progress Lord of the Rings from his father. After publication, he was tasked with interpreting his father's maps of Middle-earth and reproducing them for the books. In the 1970s, he gathered a large swath of his father's unpublished work and compiled it into what would become The Silmarillion. He was also responsible for the publication of other notable works such as 12 volumes of The History of Middle-earth, Beren and Lúthien and Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary.
In addition to his editorial and writing work, Tolkien served as the director of the Tolkien Estate until 2017, when it was believed he stepped down due to Amazon Studios acquiring the Lord of the Rings TV rights. In fact, he was vocally critical of adaptations of his father's work, specifically the acclaimed Peter Jackson film trilogies. A dispute over the films even led to a rift between Tolkien and his own son, Simon.