EDWARD MOORE (1712-1757), minor poet, dramatist, and miscellaneous writer, was the son of a dissenting minis-ter of Abingdon, where he was born in 1712. He was the author of the thrilling domestic tragedy of The Gamester, originally produced in 1753 with Garrick in the leading character, and still in the repertory of acting plays. It is perhaps the strongest lesson against gambling ever preached from stage or pulpit. The literary merit of the play is not great, but it is powerfully constructed and full of impressive incident, and the career of Beverley the gambler (a character modelled on Fielding's Captain Booth) affords great scope for the actor. Moore also wrote two comedies. As a poet he produced clever imitations of Gay and Gray, and with the assistance of Lyttelton, Chesterfield, and Horace Walpole conducted The World (1753-57) during the great decade of the revival of periodical essay-writing. The World followed Johnson's Rambler, and was followed by The Idler; it had as rivals The Adventurer and The Connoisseur. Moore died at London in 1757.