Merton Professors Explained

There are two Merton Professorships of English in the University of Oxford: the Merton Professor of English Language and Literature, and the Merton Professor of English Literature. The second was created in 1914 when Sir Walter Raleigh's chair was renamed. At the present day both professorships are associated with Merton College, but Dame Helen Gardner held her post in association with Lady Margaret Hall. The occupants of the chairs have been:

Merton Professor of English Language and Literature

• 1885 – 1916: Arthur S. Napier^[1]
• 1916 – 1920: vacant^[2]
• 1920 – 1945: H. C. K. Wyld^[3]
• 1945 – 1959: J. R. R. Tolkien^[4]
• 1959 – 1980: Norman Davis^[5]
• 1980 – 1984: vacant
• 1984 – 2014: Suzanne Romaine
• 2018 onwards: Helen Small

Merton Professor of English Literature

• 1904 – 1922: Walter A. Raleigh^[6]
• 1922 – 1928: George Stuart Gordon^[7]
• 1929 – 1946: David Nichol Smith^[8]
• 1947 – 1957: F.P. Wilson^[9]
• 1957 – 1966: Nevill Coghill^[10]
• 1966 – 1975: Helen Gardner^[11]
• 1975 – 2002: John Carey^[12]
• 2002 - 2014: David Norbrook
• 2016–present: Lorna Hutson^{[13] [14]}

Sources

• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
• The Times.

Notes and References

1. MacMahon. M K C. Napier, Arthur Sampson (1853–1916). 2004 . 10.1093/ref:odnb/94131 . 7 January 2015.
2. Book: Oxford University Calendar. 29 July 2016. 1920. J.H. Parker, and H. Slatter. 65.
3. Orton. Harold. Wyld, Henry Cecil Kennedy (1870–1945). 2004 . 10.1093/ref:odnb/37047 . 7 January 2015.
4. Book: Drout. Michael D C. J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment. 27 November 2006. Routledge. 0415969425. 466.
5. Book: Carpenter. Humphrey. J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography. limited. 28 June 2000. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 9780618057023. 240.
6. Book: Erskine-Hill. Howard. Lindsay. Alexander. William Congreve: The Critical Heritage. 29 July 2016. 2 October 2012. Routledge. 978-1-134-78263-5. 425.
7. Book: Lewis, C. S.. C. S. Lewis

   . C. S. Lewis. All My Road Before Me: The Diary of C. S. Lewis, 1922-1927. 29 July 2016. 13 November 1992. . 0-547-74690-3. 464.

8. Book: Trevor-Roper, Hugh. Hugh Trevor-Roper

   . Hugh Trevor-Roper. The Wartime Journals. 29 July 2016. 30 May 2015. I.B. Tauris. 978-1-78453-193-5. 168.

9. Book: Lewis, C. S.. C. S. Lewis

   . C. S. Lewis. All My Road Before Me: The Diary of C. S. Lewis, 1922-1927. 29 July 2016. 13 November 1992. . 0-547-74690-3. 473.

10. Book: Bloom, Harold. Harold Bloom

    . Harold Bloom. Geoffrey Chaucer. 29 July 2016. 1 January 2009. . 978-1-4381-1568-9. 48.

11. Book: Louis, Wm. Roger. Wm. Roger Louis

    . Wm. Roger Louis. History of Oxford University Press: Volume III: 1896 to 1970. 29 July 2016. November 2013. OUP Oxford. 978-0-19-956840-6. 801.

12. Web site: Professor John Carey | the Man Booker Prizes . 2016-07-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160813024357/http://themanbookerprize.com/author/professor-john-carey . 2016-08-13 . dead .
13. Web site: Appointments: Humanities. Oxford University Gazette. The University Of Oxford. 4 December 2014.
14. Web site: Appointments. Times Higher Education. 27 August 2015 . TES Global. 27 August 2015.