Terris Moore
explorer · mountaineer · businessperson · academic administrator · aircraft pilot · economist
- April 11, 1908 · Haddonfield
- November 7, 1993 · Boston
- 85 years
- heart attack
About Terris Moore
Terris Moore, 85, American explorer and mountaineer, president of the University of Alaska, heart attack.
Explore other notable deaths in 1993 or deaths in November 1993.
The Deaths Archive presents
How well do you know Terris Moore?
Explore their life. Test your knowledge. Beat the challenge.
10 questions · One legacy · How much do you really know?
Challenge your friends
Play together in real-time.
Advertisement
Full Biography
|Terris Moore (April 11, 1908 – November 7, 1993) was an explorer, mountaineer, light plane pilot, and the second president of the University of Alaska.
Early years and education
Moore attended schools in Haddonfield, Philadelphia and New York, and was a graduate of Williams College in Massachusetts. He then received an MBA and the degree of Doctor of Commercial Science from the Harvard School of Business Administration. He taught at UCLA for two years, then returned to Boston to author textbooks on taxes and work as a financial consultant.
Early career
Moore's career as a mountaineer started early, with an ascent of Chimborazo and the first ascent of Sangay, both in the Andes of Ecuador, in 1927. In the early 1930s, he made the first ascents of Mount Bona and Mount Fairweather, both major Alaskan peaks, with Allen Carpé, and he also made the first unguided ascent of Mount Robson in the Canadian Rockies.
Most famous climb
These ascents led to his most famous climb, the first ascent (with Richard Burdsall) of Minya Konka, a 7,556 metres (24,790 ft) peak in Sichuan, China. Their small party (also including Arthur Emmons and Jack Young) also carefully surveyed the peak and settled a controversy about its height. In making the ascent the summit pair climbed a mountain thousands of feet higher than any other Americans had previously succeeded.
Consultant and other work
During World War II Moore served as a consultant to the U.S. military on arctic and mountain conditions, and as a member of the Alaskan Test Expedition in 1942. In that capacity he made the third ascent of Denali. After the war, he was president of the New England Society of Natural History, which was deeply enmeshed with the Boston Museum of Science, headed by Bradford Washburn, also a noted climber of Alaskan peaks.
Moore served three years as the president of the University of Alaska, starting in 1949, and during that time he also established records for high-altitude airplane landings. Moore Residence Hall, which along with Bartlett Hall are two 8-story buildings anchoring the upper dorm complex on the Fairbanks campus, was named for him. Student radio station KSUA has its transmitter and tower atop Moore Hall.
Content from Wikipedia — licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
Interactive
Test Your Knowledge – Trivia Challenge
How well do you know this person's life and legacy?
No account needed to play. Sign in to keep your score on the leaderboard.
Books & Media
Find books, audiobooks and films about Terris Moore on Amazon.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.
Sources
- Wikipedia
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terris_Moore
- CC BY-SA 4.0
- Sep 26, 2026
- View article
- View record
- November 3, 2026
- Sep 26, 2026
People who died on November 7
Related People
Spotted an error?
Help us keep the archive accurate. Report a correction with a source.
Report an error for Terris Moore →Advertisement











