He then traveled through Germany, France and the Netherlands, and, after spending several years in London, became professor at Tübingen in 1733.
Two years prior, George II of Great Britain, in his role aselector of Hanover, had founded the University of Göttingen .
However, in 1739, Cotta returned, as extraordinary professor of theology, to his Alma Mater, Tübingen, and, after successively filling the chairs of history, poetry and oratory, was appointed ordinary professor of theology there in 1741.He passed away while serving as the chancellor of Tübingen.
[1] His scholarship was at once wide and accurate; his theological views were orthodox, although he did not believe in strict verbal inspiration.
His major works include: His grandnephew was the publisher of the same name, Johann Friedrich Cotta,dedicating the press to publishing notable German authors such as Johann von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller.