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James Moor

Biography of James Moor

James Moor or Moore (c 1712-1779) was a graduate of the University who became librarian and subsequently Professor of Greek from 1746 to 1774. He was Dean of Faculty, 1756 to 1758 and was appointed Vice-Rector in 1759 and 1761. In 1763 he was awarded an honorary LLD, and he was elected Clerk of the University in 1766.

Born in Glasgow, Moor was the son of a Mathematics teacher. He matriculated to study at the University in 1725, became a protégé of the Professor of Moral Philosophy, Francis Hutcheson, and graduated MA in 1732. He taught as a school teacher and a private tutor to the children of Scottish aristocrats, before becoming the University's librarian in 1742. He was appointed to the Chair of Greek four years later.

Moor was a founding member of the Glasgow Literary Society and collaborated with the University's printers, the Foulis brothers, to publish their celebrated editions of Latin and Greek classics. He was a man of great learning but was also argumentative and obstreperous, and incidents such as those involving a tavern brawl with the equally cantankerous Professor John Anderson and an assault on a student with a candle stick resulted in disciplinary action by the Faculty. He suffered from ill-health and financial insolvency towards the end of his life, and in 1774 he resigned his Chair on condition that he could keep his house and his salary at the College.

Summary

James Moor
Classical Scholar
Born 1712, Glasgow, Scotland.
Died 17 September 1779.
University Link: Clerk of Senate, Faculty Dean, Graduate, Honorary Graduate, Professor
GU Degrees: MA, 1732; LLD, 1763;
Occupation categories: literary scholars
NNAF Reference: GB/NNAF/P134246
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Record last updated: 15th Nov 2012

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