At which Oxford college did J.R.R. Tolkien hold his final professorship?

J.R.R. Tolkien held his final Oxford professorship at Merton College.

He became Merton Professor of English Language and Literature in 1945, succeeding C.S. Lewis’s friend and fellow scholar, Charles Wrenn. Tolkien remained in the post until his retirement in 1959. Merton was his second major Oxford college appointment after his earlier professorship at the University of Oxford’s Pembroke College.

Tolkien’s Merton years overlapped with the completion and publication of The Lord of the Rings. His Oxford career involved medieval languages, philology, and literature, but his academic work and imaginative writing were closely connected rather than separate careers. He continued revising his mythology and related writings after retiring from university teaching.