J.R.R. Tolkien was a professor at Merton College, Oxford, from 1959 until his retirement in 1973.
Tolkien held the Merton Professorship of English Language and Literature during this final Oxford academic period. Before moving to Merton, he had been Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College and Merton Professor of English Language and Literature at other stages of his career.
His academic work focused on language and medieval literature, especially Old English and Middle English. His 1936 lecture “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics” became highly influential in modern Beowulf studies by arguing that the poem should be appreciated as a work of art, not merely as historical evidence.
Tolkien retired from his Oxford professorship in 1973, the year he died. His university career and his fiction were closely connected: his expertise in medieval languages, legends, and literary traditions informed the depth and structure of Middle-earth.