John Ronald Reuel Tolkien became a professor at Oxford at 30, and this is what the academic dress of a Doctor of Letters (DLitt) of the University of Oxford looks like: a scarlet gown with bell-shaped sleeves of grey silk

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien became a professor at Oxford at 30, and this is what the academic dress of a Doctor of Letters (DLitt) of the University of Oxford looks like: a scarlet gown with bell-shaped sleeves of grey silk. Tolkien received this honorary degree in 1972, a year after his return to Oxford and a year before his death. The white bow tie is also part of the Oxford uniform.

3 January 2022 marks the 130th anniversary of Tolkien's birth