who wrote twas a night before christmas

The author of "A Visit from St. Nicholas," also known as "The Night Before Christmas," was Clement Clarke Moore, an American poet and professor of Oriental and Greek literature. The poem was first published anonymously in the Troy Sentinel, a newspaper, on December 23, 1823, and quickly became a popular Christmas poem in the United States. The poem is notable for its vivid imagery and whimsical descriptions of Santa Claus, and has been widely read and recited around the world for generations.