Editing Professor Moriarty (section)

==Fictional character biography==
As established in Doyle's canon, Moriarty first gains recognition at the age of 21 for writing "[[A Treatise on the Binomial Theorem|a treatise upon the Binomial Theorem]]", which leads to his being awarded the Mathematical Chair at one of England's smaller universities. Moriarty later authors a much respected work titled ''[[The Dynamics of an Asteroid]]''. After he becomes the subject of unspecified "dark rumours" in the university town, he is compelled to resign his teaching post and leave the area.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Smith|first=Daniel|title=The Sherlock Holmes Companion: An Elementary Guide|publisher=Aurum Press|location=London|pages=137–138|year=2014|edition=Updated|orig-year=2009|isbn=978-1-84513-458-7}}</ref> He moves to London, where he establishes himself as an "army coach", a private tutor to officers preparing for exams.<ref name="cawthorne" /> He becomes a consulting criminal mastermind for various London gangs and criminals (it is uncertain if he was already doing this before leaving his teaching post). When multiple plans of his are hampered or undone by Sherlock Holmes, Moriarty targets the consulting detective.<ref name=":0" />

Multiple pastiches and other works outside of Doyle's stories purport to provide additional information about Moriarty's background. John F. Bowers, a lecturer in mathematics at the [[University of Leeds]], wrote a tongue-in-cheek article in 1989 in which he assesses Moriarty's contributions to mathematics and gives a detailed description of Moriarty's background, including a statement that Moriarty was born in Ireland (an idea based on the fact that the surname is Irish in origin).<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=New Scientist|date=23 December 1989|last=Bowers|first=John F.|title=James Moriarty: a forgotten mathematician|pages=17–19|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yINSqbNUNM0C&q=James+Moriarty}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Arbesman|first=Samuel|title=The Half-Life of Facts: Why Everything We Know Has an Expiration Date|pages=85–86|publisher=Penguin|year=2013|isbn=9781591846512}}</ref> The 2005 pastiche novel ''[[Sherlock Holmes: The Unauthorized Biography]]'' also reports that Moriarty was born in Ireland, and states that he was employed as a professor by [[Durham University]].<ref>{{Cite book|first=Nick|last=Rennison|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oYRW5gjVz1EC&q=%22A+treatise+on+the+binomial+theorem%22&pg=PA68 |title=Sherlock Holmes: The Unauthorized Biography |pages=67–68|isbn=9781555848736|date=1 December 2007|publisher=Grove/Atlantic }}</ref> According to the 2020 audio drama ''Sherlock Holmes: The Voice of Treason'', written by [[George Mann (writer)|George Mann]] and [[Cavan Scott]], Moriarty was a professor at Stonyhurst College (where Arthur Conan Doyle was educated and knew two students with the surname Moriarty).<ref>''Sherlock Holmes: The Voice of Treason'' (16 March 2020). Audible Original Drama (audiobook). "Chapter 7."</ref>

===Family===
The stories give contradictory indications about Moriarty's family. In his first appearance in "[[The Final Problem]]" (1893), the villain is referred to only as "Professor Moriarty". Watson mentions no forename but does refer to the name of another family member when he writes of "the recent letters in which Colonel James Moriarty defends the memory of his brother". In "[[The Adventure of the Empty House]]" (1903), Holmes refers to Moriarty as "Professor James Moriarty". This is the only time Moriarty is given a first name, and oddly, it is the same as that of his purported brother.<ref name=cawthorne>{{cite book |last=Cawthorne |first=Nigel |author-link=Nigel Cawthorne |title=A Brief History of Sherlock Holmes |pages=216–220 |publisher=Robinson |date=201 |isbn=978-0-7624-4408-3}}</ref> In the 1914 novel ''[[The Valley of Fear]]'' (written after the preceding two stories, but set earlier), Holmes says of Professor Moriarty: "He is unmarried. His younger brother is a [[station master]] in the west of England."<ref>{{cite book |title=Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories |volume=2 |author=Sir Arthur Conan Doyle |publisher=Random House |page=175}}</ref> In ''[[Sherlock Holmes (play)|Sherlock Holmes: A Drama in Four Acts]]'', an 1899 stage play, of which Doyle was a co-author, the villain is named Professor Robert Moriarty.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.diogenes-club.com/sherlockplay2.htm |title=Sherlock Holmes, A Drama in Four Acts. ACT II}}</ref>

Writer [[Vincent Starrett]] suggested that Moriarty could have one brother (who is both a colonel and station master) or two brothers (one a colonel and the other a station master); he added that he considered the presence of two siblings more likely, and suggested that all three brothers were named James.<ref name=Starrett/> Writer [[Leslie S.&nbsp;Klinger]] suggested that Professor Moriarty has an older brother named Colonel James Moriarty in addition to an unnamed younger brother. According to Klinger, writer Ian McQueen proposed that Moriarty does not actually have any brothers,<ref>Klinger, Leslie (ed.). ''The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes, Volume II'' (New York: W. W. Norton, 2005). p.&nbsp;811. {{ISBN|0-393-05916-2}}.</ref> while Sherlockian John Bennett Shaw suggested, like Starrett, that there are three Moriarty brothers, all named James.<ref>Klinger, Leslie (ed.). ''The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes, Volume III'' (New York: W. W. Norton, 2006). pp.&nbsp;652–653. {{ISBN|0-393-05800-X}}.</ref>