Lynda Mugglestone

Lynda Mugglestone is a Professor of the History of English at the University of Oxford and Tutorial Fellow at Pembroke College. She holds additional teaching roles at Trinity College, Oxford. Her research focuses on historical phonology, lexicography, and the works of Samuel Johnson, with recent projects involving Johnson’s lexicographical methods and the language of World War I. She has been awarded a Knowledge Exchange Fellowship (Johnson’s House, London) and a Houghton Library Fellowship (Harvard University). Mugglestone has curated exhibitions on Johnson’s dictionary garret and authored influential books like Lost for Words: The Hidden History of the Oxford English Dictionary. Her current work includes a new book on Samuel Johnson’s lexicographical practices.

Research Interests:

• History of English language
• Lexicography and lexical history
• Samuel Johnson’s literary contributions
• Linguistic analysis of war terminology

Awards & Grants:

• Knowledge Exchange Fellowship (2023–)
• Houghton Library Fellowship (2024–)

Labs/Initiatives: Curating the Samuel Johnson Dictionary Garret exhibition at Johnson’s House, London (opening July 2024).