 When the college was founded in 1571, the first charter installed David Lewis as Principal and named eight others as the first Fellows of the college. The statutes of 1622 allowed for 16 Fellows. There is now no limit on the number of Fellowships that the Governing Body can create. The college statutes provide for various categories of Fellows. Professorial Fellows are those Professors and Readers of the University who are allocated to the college by the University. One of these professorships is the Jesus Professor of Celtic, which is the only chair in Celtic Studies at an English university. Celtic scholars such as Sir John Rhys and Ellis Evans have held the position since its creation in 1877. The chair is currently vacant, having been held by Thomas Charles-Edwards until his retirement in 2011. The zoologists Charles Godfray and Paul Harvey are both Professorial Fellows. Official Fellows are those who hold tutorial or administrative appointments in the college. Past Official Fellows include the composer and musicologist John Caldwell, the historians Sir Goronwy Edwards and Niall Ferguson, the philosopher Galen Strawson and the political philosopher John Gray. There are also Senior and Junior Research Fellows. Principals and Fellows who retire can be elected as Emeritus Fellows.
