Zephaniah Swift Moore

Zephaniah Swift Moore (November 20, 1770 – June 29, 1823)[1] was an American Congregational clergyman and educator. He taught at Dartmouth College during the early 1810s and had a house built in Hanover, New Hampshire, that now serves as Dartmouth's Blunt Alumni Center. He served as the President of Williams College between 1815 and 1821 and the first President of Amherst College between 1821 and 1823. He is most famous for leaving Williams in order to found Amherst, taking some of the faculty and 15 students with him. The rumor that Williams College library books were also taken to Amherst College was declared false in 1995 by Williams College President Harry C. Payne.[2]

Zephaniah Swift Moore
President of Williams College
In office 1815–1821
Preceded by	Ebenezer Fitch
Succeeded by	Edward Dorr Griffin
President of Amherst College
In office 1821–1823
Succeeded by	Heman Humphrey
Personal details
Born	(1770-11-20)November 20, 1770 Palmer, Massachusetts
Died	June 29, 1823(1823-06-29) (aged 52) Amherst, Massachusetts

Moore died two years after Amherst was founded, and was succeeded by Heman Humphrey, a trustee of Williams College. Moore's departure from Williams College established the foundation for the intense Williams–Amherst rivalry that persists to the present. To this day, he is regarded with a measure of derision on the Williams campus.

References

1. Zephaniah Swift MOORE. Rootsweb.ancestry.com. Retrieved on 2013-08-02.
2. Griffith, Dustin. "The Theft of the Williams Library". Williams College Special Collections. Archived from the original on 2018-10-21. Retrieved 2019-04-09.

Academic offices
Preceded by Ebenezer Fitch	President of Williams College 1815–1821	Succeeded by Edward Dorr Griffin
Preceded by None	President of Amherst College 1821–1823	Succeeded by Heman Humphrey