Daniel Killian Moore (April 2, 1906September 7, 1986) was the 66th Governor of the state of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

from 1965 to 1969.

Life and career

Daniel Killian Moore was born in

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Swannanoa River, Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populou ...

, on April 2, 1906 to Fred Moore and Lela Enloe. His father was a superior court judge. Upon his death two year's after Dan's birth, the family moved to Jackson County. Moore earned a bachelor's degree in commerce in 1927 from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

and a law degree in 1929 from the

University of North Carolina School of Law The University of North Carolina School of Law (branded as Carolina Law) is the law school of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Established in 1845, it is one of the oldest law schools in the United States and is the oldest law sch ...

where he was a member of the

Pi Kappa Phi Pi Kappa Phi (), commonly known as Pi Kapp(s), is an American Greek Letter secret and social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity. It was founded by Andrew Alexander Kroeg Jr., Lawrence Harry Mixson, and Simon Fogarty Jr. on De ...

fraternity and was selected to Phi Beta Kappa. He practiced law in

Sylva, North Carolina Sylva is an incorporation (municipal government), incorporated town located in central Jackson County, North Carolina, Jackson County, in the Plott Balsams, Plott Balsam Mountains of Western North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 United St ...

and served a term in the

North Carolina House of Representatives The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, Speaker of the House, who holds powers si ...

in 1941 before entering the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

in 1943 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. While in the army, he served in the medical and judge advocate departments, with 13 months of service in Europe."Moore Will Make Solicitor's Race in 20th District"
'' The Asheville Citizen'', Asheville, North Carolina, February 6, 1946, page 8. He was discharged in October 1945 as an enlisted soldier. After the war, Moore served as a

North Carolina Superior Court The Superior Court is North Carolina's general jurisdiction trial court. It was established in 1777 and is North Carolina's oldest court. History The Superior Court is North Carolina's oldest court. It was established by a law passed on November 1 ...

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

from 1948 to 1958. Subsequently, Moore served as counsel for the Champion Papers company in

Canton, North Carolina Canton is the second largest town in Haywood County, North Carolina, United States. It is located about west of Asheville, North Carolina, Asheville and is part of that city's Asheville metropolitan area, metropolitan area. The town is named aft ...

, while also serving on the state Board of Water Resources. He left Champion to run for

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

. He was seen as the moderate in the Democratic primary, between the conservative I. Beverly Lake, Sr. and the more progressive L. Richardson Preyer. Moore won a primary runoff with Preyer. He was sworn in on January 8, 1965. After serving one term as governor (North Carolina governors were not then eligible to be re-elected), Moore's successor, Governor Robert W. Scott, appointed him to the

North Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists ...

, the first governor of North Carolina to be so honored. He served on the Court from November 20, 1969 until December 31, 1978. As a judge and justice, he was noted for the breadth of his legal experience, common sense, and compassion. At the

1968 Democratic National Convention The 1968 Democratic National Convention was held August 26–29 at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Earlier that year incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson had announced he would not seek reelection, thus making ...

Moore received 17½ votes for president on the first ballot, finishing fifth behind

Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American politician who served from 1965 to 1969 as the 38th vice president of the United States. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Minnesota from 19 ...

(1,760½), Senator

Eugene McCarthy Eugene Joseph McCarthy (March 29, 1916December 10, 2005) was an American politician, writer, and academic from Minnesota. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1949 to 1959 and the United States Senate from 1959 to 1971. ...

(601), Sen.

George McGovern George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American politician, diplomat, and historian who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator from South Dakota, and the Democratic Party (United States), Democ ...

(146½), and Rev. Channing E. Phillips (67½). Moore received 12 of North Carolina's 59 votes, 3 from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, 2 from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

and ½ vote from

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. In May 1986, the last year of his life, Moore had a section of

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States, southeastern and Southwestern United States, southwestern portions of the United States. At a leng ...

named after him. (citation in next section)

Death and memorial

Moore died Sunday, September 7, 1986 at the age of 80 at Duke Medical Center in Durham (now known as a part of

Duke University Hospital Duke University Hospital is a 1062 -bed acute care facility and an academic tertiary care facility located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Established in 1930, it is the flagship teaching hospital for the Duke University Health Sys ...

) Hospital officials and family members declined to give the cause of death but it is known that he had cancer and had been undergoing chemotherapy at Duke Medical Center prior to his death. Moore was admitted to Duke Medical on August 30 and remained there until his death at 2:10 pm. The Funeral was at Edenton Street United Methodist Church in Raleigh and he was buried in Historic Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh, North Carolina. Some statements made by friends and family include one from governor at the time James G. Martin in which he stated "The passing of Dan K. Moore is a sad loss to North Carolina. Mrs. Martin and I have lost a good friend. He and his dear wife, Jeanelle, have been an inspirational example to us in so many ways. His firm and steady leadership and his many years of service as governor and judge have been a blessing to the people of the state. We will miss him". Former governor

Jim Hunt James Baxter Hunt Jr. (born May 16, 1937) is an American politician and retired attorney who was the List of governors of North Carolina, 69th and 71st governor of North Carolina (1977–1985, and 1993–2001). He is the longest-serving governo ...

said: "His accomplishments in judicial excellence, economic development and programs for youth are of a poorer state with the passing of this decent and civilized leader." Susie Sharp, the chief justice when Moore served as a Supreme Court Justice stated "He is one of the finest people I ever knew- Dan was a very steady person. You couldn't stampede him. That was even so in law school". Former governor James Holshouser said: "Not only did he do an able job as governor, but he was an honest, decent human being. I think his service to the state was exemplary." Holshouser goes on to state that after Governor Sanford, Moore's leadership methods were "very welcome at that time". The family of Moore requested that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made in his name as a Scholarship to The

(see Dan K. Moore program in Ethics) On April 1, 2017, a North Carolina historical marker was dedicated at Mark Watson Park, in

, in recognition of Moore's significant impact on the state's judicial system. The marker was unveiled by his children, Edith Moore Hamilton and Daniel Killian Moore Jr. Representative David McKee Hall was a nephew of Governor Moore. Portraits of the two men hang today in the Jackson County Library in Sylva.

References

Works cited

External links

Civil Rights Greensboro: Daniel Killian Moore

North Carolina Award citation
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Dan 1906 births 1986 deaths 20th-century North Carolina state court judges Democratic Party governors of North Carolina United States Army personnel of World War II Military personnel from North Carolina Justices of the North Carolina Supreme Court Candidates in the 1968 United States presidential election University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Burials at Historic Oakwood Cemetery United States Army soldiers Politicians from Asheville, North Carolina People from Sylva, North Carolina