Which college employed J.R.R. Tolkien as a professor from 1945 to 1959?

Merton College employed J.R.R. Tolkien as a professor from 1945 to 1959.

Tolkien became Merton Professor of English Language and Literature at the University of Oxford in 1945. He held the post at Merton College until his retirement in 1959. His work there followed earlier academic appointments at the University of Leeds and Oxford’s Pembroke College.

At Merton, Tolkien continued teaching and researching language, medieval literature, and philology while developing his fictional mythology. He had already written The Hobbit, and much of The Lord of the Rings was completed during the years surrounding his Merton professorship.

Pembroke College is a common source of confusion because Tolkien was a fellow and professor there before moving to Merton. His time at Pembroke lasted from 1925 to 1945. The distinction matters because both Oxford colleges are closely connected with different stages of his academic career.