Tom Marvolo Riddle

Tom Marvolo Riddle was an exceptionally powerful and brilliant half-blood wizard who, after rejecting his given name, became the Dark Lord, Lord Voldemort. As the last known heir of Salazar Slytherin, Riddle was obsessed with his magical heritage, the pursuit of absolute power, and achieving immortality through the creation of multiple Horcruxes. He is the primary antagonist of the Harry Potter series, whose actions and ideology drove the events of both the First and Second Wizarding Wars.

Tom Marvolo Riddle was born on 31 December 1926. His mother, Merope Gaunt, a pure-blood witch and descendant of Salazar Slytherin, died at a Muggle orphanage in London shortly after his birth. His father, Tom Riddle Sr., was a wealthy Muggle who had been tricked into a relationship with Merope, likely through a Love Potion, and abandoned her upon its effects wearing off. Riddle grew up in Wool's Orphanage, a bleak Muggle institution. Even as a child, he demonstrated a cruel and controlling nature, along with conscious use of his magical abilities. He used his powers to terrorize other children, was a kleptomaniac, and discovered his ability to speak Parseltongue. He showed no capacity for remorse or affection, displaying classic signs of psychopathy.

In 1938, Albus Dumbledore visited the orphanage to invite Riddle to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Dumbledore was the only person Riddle could not charm or manipulate, and he remained wary of Riddle throughout his life. Upon arrival at Hogwarts, Riddle was sorted into Slytherin House. Outwardly, Riddle was a model student: a Prefect and later Head Boy, he was considered one of the most brilliant students ever to attend the school. Secretly, he was obsessed with his lineage. He discovered his connection to the Gaunt family and Salazar Slytherin, and in his fifth year, he located and opened the Chamber of Secrets. He unleashed the Basilisk within, which resulted in the death of a student, Myrtle Warren (Moaning Myrtle). He used her death to create his first Horcrux, Tom Riddle's Diary. To avoid the school's closure, he framed Rubeus Hagrid and his Acromantula, Aragog, for the attacks. During his time at Hogwarts, he charmed his Potions Master, Horace Slughorn, into telling him about the rare and dark magic of Horcruxes. He also gathered a group of loyal followers from Slytherin, who were the precursors to the Death Eaters.

After graduating from Hogwarts, Riddle briefly worked at Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley. He used this position to track down and acquire two priceless artifacts: Salazar Slytherin's Locket and Helga Hufflepuff's Cup, murdering their owner, Hepzibah Smith, to obtain them. He also traveled to Little Hangleton where he murdered his Muggle father and grandparents, framing his uncle Morfin Gaunt for the crimes. He then disappeared for a decade, traveling extensively and delving deeper into the Dark Arts than any wizard before him. When he re-emerged, he was physically transformed and had fully embraced his new identity as Lord Voldemort, a name derived from an anagram of his full name. He attempted to secure the Defence Against the Dark Arts teaching post at Hogwarts, but was refused by Dumbledore. In retaliation, he cursed the position, ensuring no professor would last longer than a year. His subsequent life and reign of terror are chronicled under his assumed name, Lord Voldemort.

As a young man, Tom Riddle was described as tall and exceptionally handsome, with pale skin, jet-black hair, and dark eyes. His charm and good looks were powerful tools he used to manipulate those around him, including figures like Professor Slughorn. Riddle's personality was defined by his immense arrogance, cruelty, and an unquenchable thirst for power. He was a megalomaniac who believed in his own superiority and his right to rule over others. Incapable of love, empathy, or friendship, he viewed people as either tools to be used or obstacles to be eliminated. He was intensely secretive and independent, never trusting anyone completely. His greatest fear was death, an obsession that drove him to split his soul to achieve immortality. Despite championing pure-blood supremacy, he was deeply ashamed of his own half-blood status and his “common” Muggle name.

• Magical Prodigy: Riddle was universally acknowledged as a magical genius, excelling in every branch of magic he studied.
• Dark Arts: He was a master of the Dark Arts without peer, with unparalleled knowledge of dark spells and curses. His most infamous accomplishment was his successful creation of multiple Horcruxes.
• Parseltongue: As the heir of Salazar Slytherin, Riddle was a Parselmouth, able to speak with snakes. He used this ability to control the Basilisk of the Chamber of Secrets.
• Duelling: He was a formidable duellist, capable of holding his own against even Albus Dumbledore.
• Legilimency and Occlumency: Riddle was a highly accomplished Legilimens, able to penetrate the minds of others with ease.
• Wand: His wand was thirteen-and-a-half inches, made of yew, and contained a phoenix feather core. This feather came from Fawkes, the same phoenix that gave a feather for Harry Potter's wand, creating a powerful connection between the two.

• Tom Riddle's Diary: His first Horcrux, created with the murder of Myrtle Warren. It contained a memory of his sixteen-year-old self.
• Marvolo Gaunt's Ring: A Gaunt family heirloom which contained the Resurrection Stone. Riddle turned it into his second Horcrux using the murder of his father, Tom Riddle Sr..
• Wand: His yew and phoenix feather wand, which he acquired before his first year at Hogwarts.

• Merope Gaunt (Mother): He despised his mother for what he saw as her weakness: dying like a commoner and succumbing to a “disgusting” love for a Muggle.
• Tom Riddle Sr. (Father): He held a deep-seated hatred for his father for abandoning his pregnant mother. His first act of calculated murder was against his paternal family, an event he used to create a Horcrux and symbolically destroy his Muggle past.
• Albus Dumbledore: The only wizard Riddle ever feared. Dumbledore never trusted him and actively worked to thwart his ambitions from their first meeting until his death.
• Horace Slughorn: His Head of House, whom Riddle expertly manipulated with charm and flattery to gain vital information about Horcruxes.
• Death Eaters: His followers, whom he never considered allies or friends. He ruled them through fear and demanded absolute loyalty, punishing failure with death.
• Harry Potter: His prophesied vanquisher and ultimate nemesis. Their lives were inextricably linked by the prophecy, the shared cores of their wands, and Harry's status as an unintended Horcrux.

• Tom: A very common English name. Riddle hated it for its ordinariness, seeing it as a link to the Muggle world he so despised.
• Marvolo: His middle name came from his maternal grandfather, Marvolo Gaunt. The name itself evokes “marvelous” but also hints at malevolence.
• Riddle: A word meaning a puzzle, question, or enigmatic statement, which perfectly reflects his mysterious origins and secretive, manipulative nature.
• The name Tom Marvolo Riddle is famously an anagram of “I am Lord Voldemort,” a fact he revealed to Harry Potter in the Chamber of Secrets.

• In the film adaptations, the young Tom Riddle is portrayed by Christian Coulson in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Hero Fiennes Tiffin as a child in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Frank Dillane as a teenager in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. (film)
• J.K. Rowling has stated that Tom Riddle was conceived while his father was under the influence of a Love Potion, and that this loveless union is symbolic of his inability to understand or feel love. (J.K. Rowling interview)
• Riddle's birthday on December 31st places him on the cusp of the new year, symbolizing an end and a beginning, fitting for a character who represents both the end of his ancient bloodline and the beginning of a new era of terror.