What was J.R.R. Tolkien’s academic position at the University of Leeds in 1920?

J.R.R. Tolkien became a Reader in English Language at the University of Leeds in 1920.

After serving in the First World War and working on the Oxford English Dictionary, Tolkien entered academic life. His Leeds appointment marked his first university teaching post. He taught subjects including Old and Middle English, Old Norse and Germanic philology, while continuing to develop his expertise in historical languages and literature.

Tolkien later returned to Oxford, where he became Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College and then Merton Professor of English Language and Literature. Because his best-known academic titles came from Oxford, summaries sometimes overlook his earlier Leeds position. His teaching and scholarship in language were closely connected to his creative work, especially his invention of languages and his interest in medieval texts.