JRR Tolkien is a famous author who was known for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, both of which were made into movies. He was born on January 3rd, 1892 and died on September 2nd 1973....
There are many pictures of him. Many of his books feature a photo of him on the back. Use your favorite search engine and you will find many of them, often in a tweed jacket and a pipe.
I think the introduction to the fellowship of the ring is a good answer to this: "history became legend, legend became myth"... I'd still call Tolkein history. When nobody is around who remembers...