Which Oxford university did J.R.R. Tolkien attend and later teach at?

J.R.R. Tolkien attended and later taught at the University of Oxford.

He studied Classics at Exeter College, Oxford, before changing his focus to English language and literature. His academic work combined philology, the historical study of languages, with a deep interest in medieval and Old English texts.

Tolkien became a professor at Oxford and held posts at Pembroke College and Merton College. At Pembroke, he wrote much of The Hobbit and the early parts of The Lord of the Rings. He later served as Merton Professor of English Language and Literature from 1945 until his retirement in 1959.

The university is sometimes confused with Cambridge because Tolkien’s friend C.S. Lewis taught at Cambridge later in life. Tolkien’s major academic career, however, was centered at Oxford, where he also participated in literary discussion groups such as the Inklings.