Gresham Professor of Rhetoric

The Professor of Rhetoric at Gresham College, London, gives free educational lectures to the general public. The college was founded for this purpose in 1596 / 1597, when it appointed seven professors; this has since increased to eight and in addition the college now has visiting professors.

The Professor of Rhetoric is always appointed by the Mercers’ School Memorial Trust, which is administered by the Worshipful Company of Mercers. The title is a broad one, and Professors of Rhetoric have included historians, poets, educators and literary critics.

(Years given as, for example, 1596 / 1597 refer to Old Style and New Style dates.)