Which Oxford college did J.R.R. Tolkien serve as a fellow from 1945?

J.R.R. Tolkien served as a fellow of Merton College, Oxford, from 1945.

Tolkien became the Merton Professor of English Language and Literature in 1945 and held the chair until his retirement in 1959. The professorship brought him to Merton College, one of the historic colleges of the University of Oxford. His work there combined teaching, scholarship, and continued writing.

Tolkien had already held important academic positions at Oxford before joining Merton. He was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon from 1925 to 1945, a separate role at Pembroke College. That earlier association is why Merton and Pembroke are sometimes mixed up. Tolkien continued to live near Oxford after retirement and remained closely connected with the university’s intellectual life.