Professor James Moriarty is a fictional character and criminal mastermind created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to be a formidable enemy for the author's fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. He was created primarily as a device by which Doyle could kill Holmes and end the hero's stories.

Professor James Moriarty is the main antagonist of the canon of Sherlock Holmes and the Sherlock Holmes franchise as a whole. He is a high-level crime lord in London, Sebastian Moran's boss and the archenemy of Sherlock Holmes, being famously described as the "Napoleon of Crime" and the most...

In the Sherlock Holmes stories Professor Moriarty, by Sidney Paget (The Strand Magazine, 1893) Description His name was James Moriarty (EMPT, 406). He had a brother with the same first name, colonel James Moriarty. (FINA, 4) He was extremely tall and thin, his forehead domed out in a white curve, and his two eyes were deeply sunken in his head.

The name Moriarty is an Anglicized version of the Irish name Ó Muircheartaigh [oː ˈmˠɪɾʲɪçaɾˠt̪ˠiː] which originated in County Kerry in Ireland. Ó Muircheartaigh can be translated to mean 'navigator' or 'sea worthy', as the Irish word muir means sea (cognate to the Latin word mare for 'sea') and ceardach means skilled. [2]

James "Jim" Moriarty was the world's only "consulting criminal"; a stark contrast to his arch nemesis is Sherlock Holmes ' similarly unrivaled "consulting detective" occupation. In 1989, when he was 13 years old, Moriarty murdered Carl Powers, whom he claimed "laughed at him".

Oct 30, 2023 · Professor James Moriarty is the only villain sharp enough to outwit the greatest detective of all time—even Holmes himself refers to Moriarty as "the Napoleon of Crime."

Jan 27, 2025 · Professor James Moriarty is Holmes' formidable enemy in the famed Sir Arthur Conan Doyle detective novels, described as walking "in a curiously reptilian fashion."

Oct 30, 2022 · Professor James Moriarty, the archnemesis of Sherlock Holmes, has a considerable legacy in popular fiction. Here is your guide to the character.

Professor Moriarty, archcriminal nemesis of Sherlock Holmes in several detective stories and novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.

Sep 1, 2015 · A riveting, deeply atmospheric tale of murder and menace from one of the only writers to earn the seal of approval from Conan Doyle’s estate, Moriarty breathes life into Holmes’s dark and fascinating world.