Moore, Clement Clarke

Moore, Clement Clarke, 1779–1863, American educator and poet, b. New York City, grad. Columbia, 1798. A biblical scholar, he was professor of Asian and Greek literature at the Episcopal General Theological Seminary, erected in New York City on land that he had donated. He is remembered for the well-known poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas," which begins " 'Twas the night before Christmas"; it was first published anonymously in the Troy Sentinel in 1823. Recent computer-aided scholarship has cast considerable doubt on Moore's authorship of the poem.

Bibliography

See biography by S. W. Patterson (1956); S. Nissenbaum, The Battle for Christmas (1996); D. Foster, Author Unknown (2000).

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Moore, Clement Clarke

(born July 15, 1779, New York, N.Y., U.S.—died July 10, 1863, Newport, R.I.) U.S. scholar remembered for the ballad that begins “'Twas the night before Christmas.” Moore cofounded General Theological Seminary and taught Oriental and Greek literature there (1821–50). He is said to have composed “A Visit to St. Nicholas” to amuse his children on Christmas 1822, and it was published anonymously in the Troy (N.Y.) Sentinel, on Dec. 23, 1823. In 2000 it was determined that the poem was probably the work of Henry Livingston, Jr. (1748–1828).