Description
Born Tom Marvolo Riddle, later self-styled as Lord Voldemort, he is widely regarded as the most dangerous dark wizard in modern history. A direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin, Riddle waged a campaign of terror against the wizarding world that culminated in two devastating wars and fundamentally reshaped magical society.
Background
Tom Riddle was born to a witch mother and a muggle father, the latter of whom abandoned the family before Riddle’s birth. Raised at Wool’s Orphanage in London, Riddle exhibited unusual and troubling magical abilities from a young age. He was discovered by Albus Dumbledore and brought to Hogwarts, where he was sorted into Slytherin house upon his arrival in 1938.
Riddle was by all outward measures an exceptional student — brilliant, charming, and admired by most of his professors. Beneath this carefully cultivated exterior, however, he was already drawn to the darkest aspects of magic and had begun to gather followers.
History
Early Years at Hogwarts (1938-1945)
In 1939, just one year after arriving at Hogwarts, Riddle formed the Knights of Walpurgis from among his fellow Slytherin students. This group — described as “a mixture of the weak seeking protection, the ambitious seeking glory, and the thuggish seeking a leader who could show them more refined cruelty” — would serve as the precursor to the Death Eaters.
Riddle was made prefect in 1942 and head boy in 1944, all while pursuing his secret obsession with immortality. During his sixth year, he approached Professor Horace Slughorn to discuss the creation of Horcruxes, specifically asking about the feasibility of splitting his soul into six pieces to create an unprecedented level of protection against death.
He had already begun acting on this ambition. In June 1942, Riddle opened the Chamber of Secrets and released the Basilisk within, resulting in the death of Myrtle Warren. He used this murder to create his first Horcrux — his diary. In August 1943, he traveled to Little Hangleton and murdered his muggle father, Tom Riddle Sr., using this act to create his second Horcrux from Gaunt’s ring. In 1945, he traveled to Albania, obtained Rowena Ravenclaw’s diadem, and killed an Albanian peasant to create his third Horcrux.
It was during this period that Riddle adopted the alias “Lord Voldemort,” an anagram of his birth name, to distance himself from his muggle heritage.
Post-Graduation (1945-1961)
After graduating from Hogwarts, Riddle applied for the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor but was denied on Dumbledore’s advice, who felt he was too young and suspected his true nature.
Riddle instead took employment at Borgin and Burkes, a shop in Knockturn Alley specializing in dark artifacts. Through this work, he befriended the elderly collector Hepzibah Smith, who possessed two priceless relics: Hufflepuff’s Cup and Slytherin’s Locket. Riddle murdered Hepzibah with poison, framed her house elf Hokey for the crime, and stole both artifacts. He used these killings to create his fourth and fifth Horcruxes.
In 1961, Riddle vanished from public life entirely. For a decade, he traveled to unknown places, delving deeper into dark magic than any wizard before him. The transformation he underwent during this period was profound — when he resurfaced, the handsome Tom Riddle was gone, replaced by the pale, serpentine figure the wizarding world would come to fear.
Rise to Power (1971-1981)
Riddle returned and reformed the Knights of Walpurgis under a new name: the Death Eaters. He applied once more for the Defence Against the Dark Arts position at Hogwarts and was again refused by Dumbledore.
Between 1971 and 1973, Voldemort aggressively recruited allies beyond his human followers, securing the allegiance of giants, werewolves, Dementors, and acromantulas. He entrusted his diary Horcrux to his lieutenant Lucius Malfoy for safekeeping.
Among his inner circle, Voldemort personally mentored Severus Snape and Bellatrix Lestrange, both of whom became among his most capable and devoted followers.
The First Wizarding War began in approximately 1970-1971 and raged for a decade. Voldemort and the Death Eaters terrorized both the magical and muggle worlds, employing murder, torture, and the Imperius Curse to seize power and sow fear.
Defeat (1981)
On October 31, 1981, acting on a prophecy, Voldemort traveled to Godric’s Hollow to kill the infant Harry Potter. After murdering Harry’s parents, James and Lily Potter, he turned his wand on the child. The Killing Curse rebounded, destroying Voldemort’s physical form and reducing him to a disembodied wraith. The cause of this unprecedented magical event was later understood to be the sacrificial protection Lily Potter had placed on her son.
Voldemort’s surviving Horcruxes prevented his true death, and he would eventually return — but his first defeat marked the end of the First Wizarding War and ushered in an era of fragile peace.
Return and Final Defeat (1995-1998)
Voldemort returned to a physical form in 1995 and launched the Second Wizarding War. His reign of terror ended at the Battle of Hogwarts in May 1998, where Harry Potter destroyed the final Horcrux and defeated him in their last confrontation. Voldemort’s own rebounding Killing Curse destroyed him.
Fate After Death
Because Voldemort had split and mutilated his soul so many times through the creation of Horcruxes, his soul was left trapped in limbo for eternity. Unable to move on to the afterlife or return to the land of the living as a ghost, the man who feared death more than anything received a fate far worse than death itself.
Following his destruction, everyone who had once feared to speak his name felt no such fear any longer.
See also: Death Eaters, Knights of Walpurgis, First Wizarding War, Horcruxes, Chamber of Secrets, Battle of Hogwarts