Robert Lowell Moore (January 12, 1896 - April 23, 1986) was the co-founder of the

Sheraton Hotels and Resorts Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is an American international hotel chain owned by Marriott International. As of June 30, 2020, Sheraton operates 446 hotels with 155,617 rooms globally, including locations in North America, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Cent ...

international chain along with his college roommate Ernest Henderson. He was also the father of author

Robin Moore Robert Lowell Moore Jr. (October 31, 1925 – February 21, 2008) was an American writer who wrote '' The Green Berets'', '' The French Connection: A True Account of Cops, Narcotics, and International Conspiracy'', and with Xaviera Hollander and ...

Life and career

Robert Lowell Moore was born on January 12, 1896 to James Lowell Moore and Jane Hancox Newell in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

. Through his maternal grandmother, Moore was a descendent of the minister William Wells. Moore grew up and attended high school in

Wayland, Massachusetts Wayland is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The town was founded in 1638, and incorporated in 1780 and was originally part of neighboring Sudbury (incorporated 1639). At the 2020 United States census, the population wa ...

. He then attended

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

where he was roommates with Ernest Henderson. Together the two would create and grow the international chain of

. In 1916 Moore took leave from Harvard to work as an ambulance driver in France during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In 1917 he enlisted in the

United States Army Air Service The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial warf ...

and served as a pilot. After the war, Moore enrolled in the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

, and in 1921 he graduated with a degree in business engineering. In 1934, Moore and Henderson began buying depressed real estate and specialized in reviving declining hotels. Their third hotel purchase was the Sheraton Hotel located in

Harvard Square Harvard Square is a triangular plaza at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue (Boston), Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street (Cambridge, Massachusetts), Brattle Street and John F. Kennedy Street near the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts, C ...

. Because of the large electric sign on its roof advertising the hotel, Moore and Henderson decided to use that name for future hotels. Moore and Henderson bought Copley Plaza in 1944 and made it their flagship hotel. In 1948, their company merged with U.S. Realty & Improvement Corporation to become Sheraton Corp. of America. In 1968 International Telephone & Telegraph Corp. bought Sheraton. In 1924, Moore married Eleanor Turner, an artist and book illustrator. Together the two had five children: writer and astrologer

Marcia Moore Marcia Moore (May 22, 1928 – January 14, 1979) was an American writer, astrologer and yoga teacher brought to national attention in 1965 through Jess Stearn's book ''Yoga, Youth, and Reincarnation''. She was an advocate and researcher of th ...

, author Robert “Robin” Moore, John S. Moore, William K. Moore, and Paul Fox. Moore died on April 23, 1986.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Robert Lowell 1896 births 1986 deaths United States Army Air Service pilots of World War I Hotel founders American hoteliers Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Harvard College alumni