Welcome to History of Magic! In these lessons you will learn all the powerful and not so powerful witches and wizards. We will also travel back in time to understand a wizard’s life and how it made us who we are today. I am your professor, Madame Isabelle. Today’s first lesson is about He-Who-Mu st-Not-Be-Named.
Lord Voldemort
Birth name: Tom Marvolo Riddle. While in school, Riddle rearranged the letters in this given name into "I am Lord Voldemort, a name I knew wizards everywhere would one day fear to speak, when I had become the greatest sorcerer in the world!"
Birthdate: Dec. 31, 1926
Died: May 2, 1998
Name source: Tom's mother lived long enough to name him 'Tom' after his father, 'Marvolo' after his grandfather.
Other names: 'Lord Voldemort,' 'You-Know-Who,' 'He Who Must Not Be Named,' 'The Dark Lord,' 'T.M. Riddle' (on diary), 'Tom.' Dumbledore says that Tom began using "Lord Voldemort" a few years after he began his schooling at Hogwarts.
Other name meaning: 'Voldemort'= flight from death (French) (JKR).
He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named: As soon as Voldemort took control of the Ministry in 1997, he reinforced this fear by putting a taboo on speaking his name. Anyone brave enough to say 'Voldemort' would have their locations immediately revealed to "snatchers" or other enforcement squads who would come and take you into custody.
FAMILY
Ancestry: Half-blood; descendent of Salazar Slytherin.
Mother: Merope Gaunt, who died in London one hour after giving birth; she was a descendent of Salazar Slytherin.
Father: Tom Riddle, a Muggle from the village of Little Hangleton who abandoned Merope because he discovered she was a witch; described as anti-magic, rich, snobbish, & rude.
Childhood: 1926-1938, raised in a Muggle orphanage in London. Orphanage was clean, but meager: a bare courtyard and grim, square building surrounded by high railings. Head matron was Mrs. Cole. Mrs. Cole recalls that he was an odd baby -- he rarely cried, and as he got older he appeared to cause "nasty" things to happen to the other children and to pets around the orphanage. Also stole things: a yo-yo, a silver thimble, and a harmonica ('mouth organ').
Paternal grandfather: Mr. Riddle, also of Little Hangleton.
Maternal grandfather: Marvolo Gaunt, a descendent of Salazar Slytherin.
Aunts, Uncles: His maternal uncle was Morfin Gaunt.
Siblings: None.
Children: None.
Pet (?): Large snake named Nagini.
Obsession with his heritage leads to patricide: At Hogwarts, Tom was obsessed with his heritage. Although he knew since his first year that he was the Heir of Slytherin, he didn't learn the complete story until he tracked down and visited his uncle, Morfin Gaunt during the summer of 1943. Morfin told him that his father was a Muggle and his mother was a descendent of Slytherin. At this point, Tom Stunned Morfin and went to Riddle House where he murdered his father and grandparents. Before leaving Little Hangleton, Tom went back to the Gaunt shack and stole the gold Slytherin ring. It is unknown how, but Tom also bespelled Morfin into confessing to the crime. Morfin was convicted for the murders and sentenced to Azkaban.
Greatest desire: In front of the Mirror of Erised, Voldemort would see "Himself, all-powerful and eternal. That's what he wants."
Source: www.hp-lexicon.org