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Robert Moses (1888-1981) was a public official whose vision played a major role in shaping the physical development of the New York Metropolitan area. Moses was born on December 18, 1888 and raised in New Haven, Connecticut and on East 46th Street in Manhattan. He graduated from Yale University in 1909, and went on to receive a Ph.D. in political science from Columbia University in 1914. Moses began his career with the Municipal Research Bureau in 1913. By 1922, as an advisor to Governor Al Smith, he had become involved in the areas to which he devoted most of his career: parks, construction, and highways. Moses was married twice, and had two daughters. He died on July 29, 1981.

Moses was principally responsible for the construction of an enormous number of major public projects in the state and city of New York, including the Triborough Bridge, the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, the Henry Hudson Bridge, the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, the Throgs Neck Bridge, and the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge; the Cross-Bronx Expressway, the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, the FDR Drive, the Northern and Southern State Parkways, and the Long Island Expressway; as well as Jones Beach State Park and the Robert Moses State Park on Long Island; and the Robert Moses Power Plant on the St. Lawrence River and Robert Moses Power Dam on the Niagara River. Moses was also responsible for the construction of several major public housing projects in New York City and the development of the Lincoln Center campus.

During his long career, Moses accumulated multiple offices and positions, often concurrently, allowing him broad powers across New York State. Despite his many positions, Moses never held any elected office. A controversial figure, his development projects displaced hundreds of thousands of residents, including Black, low-income, and immigrant communities, and emphasized highways over public transit infrastructure.

Positions Mosesheld include:

Long Island State Park Commission, President 1924-1963

New York State Council of Parks, chairman 1924-1963

New York Secretary of State, 1927-1928

Jones Beach Parkway Authority, President 1933-1963

Bethpage State Park Authority, President 1933-1963

Emergency Public Works Commission, chairman 1933-1934

New York City Department of Parks, commissioner 1934-1960

Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, chairman 1934-1968

New York City Construction Co-ordinator, 1942-1960

New York City Planning Commissioner, 1946-1960

New York State Power Authority, chairman 1954-1962

New York World's Fair, President 1960-1966

Special Advisor to the Governor of the State of New York on Housing, 1974-1975