Clement Clarke Moore

Clement Clarke Moore was a sober professor of Oriental and Greek literature in Manhattan — and, almost by accident, the man who invented the modern Santa Claus. "A Visit from St. Nicholas," reportedly written to amuse his children, appeared anonymously in the Troy Sentinel just before Christmas 1823.

The poem gave St. Nick his sleigh, his chimney entrance, his "little round belly," and all eight reindeer by name. Moore, perhaps embarrassed by its lightness, did not publicly claim it for more than twenty years.

Scholars still argue about whether he or Henry Livingston Jr. actually wrote it — but every child who can recite "'Twas the night before Christmas" is quoting one of them.