Dr. Claude Moore was born in Danville, Virginia in 1892. He described his childhood in the Southwest Virginia towns of Radford and Roanoke as one of poverty, steeped in the values of hard work and thrift. As a young boy, he was a member of the first Boy Scout Troop in Roanoke.

Prior to volunteering for the Army, Dr. Moore received a scholarship to the University of Virginia Medical School and graduated in 1916. Following his service in France during World War I, Dr. Moore returned to Roanoke, where he practiced for seven years before joining the staff of the Mayo Clinic to study radiology. In 1930, he moved to the District of Columbia and taught at the George Washington University, eventually as the first chairman of the university’s radiology department. He later established an independent practice.

Dr. Moore began investing in undeveloped Northern Virginia land in 1931, acquiring many of his holdings at public auctions. He typically stocked these properties with cattle or sheep or leased them to tenants for farming. When he retired in 1956, Dr. Moore turned his full attention to land investments.

Dr. Moore established the Claude Moore Charitable Foundation in 1987 creating a philanthropic legacy.