J.R.R. Tolkien

Yes, Tolkien held the Rawlinson and Bosworth Professorship of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford from 1925 to 1945, and later served as Merton Professor of English Language and Literature from 1945 to 1959. His academic specialty was Old and Middle English, and he delivered influential lectures on the epic poem Beowulf.

The recommended order is The Hobbit (1937) first, followed by The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955), published in three volumes: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. The Silmarillion, published posthumously in 1977, provides the deep mythological backstory and is best read after the main narrative.

Yes, Tolkien and C.S. Lewis were close friends and fellow members of the informal literary discussion group known as the Inklings, which met regularly in Oxford pubs. Tolkien played a significant role in Lewis's conversion from atheism to Christianity, though their friendship cooled in later years over personal and creative differences.

Tolkien served as a second lieutenant in the Lancashire Fusiliers during World War I and fought in the Battle of the Somme in 1916. Many of his closest friends from school were killed in the war, and the experience profoundly shaped the themes of loss, heroism, and corruption that pervade The Lord of the Rings.