Tom Riddle

Tom Marvolo Riddle is the birth name of Lord Voldemort, the principal antagonist of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. He was born on 31 December 1926 at Wool’s Orphanage in London, after his mother, Merope Gaunt, died shortly following childbirth. His father, Tom Riddle Sr., was a wealthy Muggle whom Merope had enchanted and who abandoned her when the enchantment ended. Through Merope, Riddle descended from Salazar Slytherin and inherited the ability to speak Parseltongue.

Albus Dumbledore brought the eleven-year-old Riddle to Hogwarts, where he entered Slytherin House and became an exceptionally accomplished student. Charming to teachers and secretive about his cruelty, he gathered followers who later formed the nucleus of the Death Eaters. While still at school, he discovered the Chamber of Secrets, released its basilisk, and caused the death of Myrtle Warren. He framed Rubeus Hagrid and Hagrid’s Acromantula, Aragog, for the attacks. Riddle preserved a memory of these events in a diary that later became one of his Horcruxes.

Obsessed with immortality, Riddle learned about Horcruxes from Professor Horace Slughorn and sought to split his soul into seven parts. His known Horcruxes included the diary, Marvolo Gaunt’s ring, Salazar Slytherin’s locket, Helga Hufflepuff’s cup, Rowena Ravenclaw’s diadem, and Nagini. Harry Potter accidentally became another vessel when Voldemort’s Killing Curse rebounded in Godric’s Hollow. Before adopting his feared title, Riddle rearranged the letters of “Tom Marvolo Riddle” into “I am Lord Voldemort.” He worked briefly at Borgin and Burkes, using charm and manipulation to acquire objects associated with Hogwarts’ founders.

As Voldemort, he pursued blood purity despite his own half-blood parentage, terrorizing magical Britain through murder, coercion, and infiltration. Sybill Trelawney’s prophecy led him to target infant Harry Potter. Lily Potter’s sacrificial protection caused his curse to rebound, destroying his body on 31 October 1981. He survived in a diminished form because his Horcruxes anchored his soul.

Voldemort regained a body during the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, using a potion containing his father’s bone, Peter Pettigrew’s flesh, and Harry’s blood. He then rebuilt the Death Eaters, engineered Dumbledore’s death, and seized control of the Ministry of Magic. His wand shared a phoenix-feather core with Harry’s, both supplied by Fawkes. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Neville Longbottom killed Nagini, eliminating the final deliberate Horcrux. Voldemort’s own curse rebounded when the Elder Wand recognized Harry, not Voldemort, as its true master, killing him.