J.R.R. Tolkien taught as a professor in Oxford, England.
Tolkien spent much of his academic career at the University of Oxford. He served as Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon from 1925 to 1945 and then as Merton Professor of English Language and Literature from 1945 until 1959. His work as a philologist and medievalist strongly influenced the languages, names, and literary textures of his fiction.
At Oxford, Tolkien was associated with several colleges, including Pembroke College and Merton College. He wrote or developed major parts of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings while balancing teaching, research, family life, and other academic responsibilities. His expertise included Old English, Middle English, Old Norse, and related languages.
Oxford is sometimes confused with Cambridge because both are major English university cities and both have strong traditions in medieval studies. Tolkien’s academic appointments, however, were at Oxford. His friendship with fellow Oxford writer C. S. Lewis also contributed to the literary discussions of the Inklings.