American poet and educator, born in New York City, and educated at Columbia College (now Columbia University). From 1821 to 1850 Moore was professor of Oriental and Greek literature at the Episcopal General Theological Seminary in New York City. The seminary was built on land that he had donated. Moore is best known for the poem beginning "'Twas the night before Christmas . . .," which, although it has been occasionally attributed to other writers, most notably children's poet Henry Livingstone, Jr., is most commonly associated with Moore. Allegedly written for his own children in 1822, "A Visit from Saint Nicholas" was first published anonymously in the Troy (New York) Sentinel in 1823.