Moreno was born to Francisco and Juana Thwaites Madero in Buenos Aires.
Raised in a traditional patrician family, he studied in local parochial schools.
He shared his spare time with his father searching for artifacts and fossils and, at age 14, created a homemade museum of his extensive collections.

Following graduation in 1872, he participated in the founding of the Argentine Scientific Society.
He embarked on the first of the series of scientific expeditions that made him well known: a survey of Río Negro Territory, largely uncharted country.
 In January 1876, he reached Lake Nahuel-Huapi in the southern Andes, and on February 15, 1877, he discovered and named Lake Argentino.
He also explored numerous rivers in Patagonia.
On March 2, he discovered and named Mount Fitz Roy, after the commander of the expedition of HMS Beagle in the 1830s.
The native people also called it Chalten.

In 1880, Moreno went to France, where he spoke at a meeting of the Anthropology Society of Paris, discussing two prehistoric skulls he had unearthed in Río Negro territory.
He believed one was from the Quaternary period, and the other had ritual deformation in a manner similar to the skulls of the Aymara people of the Andes and Altiplano.

After his return to Argentina, that year he embarked on his second major expedition to the territory of Patagonia.
He was taken prisoner by a Tehuelche aboriginal tribe and condemned to death.
He escaped on March 11, one day before the appointed execution.
During this period he met the Tehuelche chief, Inacayal, who was hospitable to him.
Later Inacayal led a resistance to the government, not surrendering until 1884.

In 1882–1883 Moreno explored the Andes from Bolivia southward, and in 1884–1885 he made new explorations of the territory south of the Río Negro and of Patagonia.
He was appointed as chief of the Argentine exploring commission of the southern territories, and member of numerous European scientific societies.
For his contributions to science, Moreno received a doctorate Honoris causa from the National University of Córdoba in 1877.

He is also known for his role in defending Argentine interests.
He made defining surveys that led to the Boundary treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina.
In honor to this contribution, the Argentinian glacier Perito Moreno, was named after him.
These surveys and others yielded Moreno a vast collection of archaeological and anthropological data and artifacts, for which he founded an anthropological museum in Buenos Aires in 1877.
Moreno was born to Francisco and Juana Thwaites Madero in Buenos Aires. Raised in a traditional patrician family, he studied in local parochial schools. He shared his spare time with his father searching for artifacts and fossils and, at age 14, created a homemade museum of his extensive collections.
Following graduation in 1872, he participated in the founding of the Argentine Scientific Society. He embarked on the first of the series of scientific expeditions that made him well known: a survey of Río Negro Territory, largely uncharted country.  In January 1876, he reached Lake Nahuel-Huapi in the southern Andes, and on February 15, 1877, he discovered and named Lake Argentino. He also explored numerous rivers in Patagonia. On March 2, he discovered and named Mount Fitz Roy, after the commander of the expedition of HMS Beagle in the 1830s. The native people also called it Chalten.
In 1880, Moreno went to France, where he spoke at a meeting of the Anthropology Society of Paris, discussing two prehistoric skulls he had unearthed in Río Negro territory. He believed one was from the Quaternary period, and the other had ritual deformation in a manner similar to the skulls of the Aymara people of the Andes and Altiplano.
After his return to Argentina, that year he embarked on his second major expedition to the territory of Patagonia. He was taken prisoner by a Tehuelche aboriginal tribe and condemned to death. He escaped on March 11, one day before the appointed execution. During this period he met the Tehuelche chief, Inacayal, who was hospitable to him. Later Inacayal led a resistance to the government, not surrendering until 1884.
In 1882–1883 Moreno explored the Andes from Bolivia southward, and in 1884–1885 he made new explorations of the territory south of the Río Negro and of Patagonia. He was appointed as chief of the Argentine exploring commission of the southern territories, and member of numerous European scientific societies. For his contributions to science, Moreno received a doctorate Honoris causa from the National University of Córdoba in 1877.
He is also known for his role in defending Argentine interests. He made defining surveys that led to the Boundary treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina. In honor to this contribution, the Argentinian glacier Perito Moreno, was named after him. These surveys and others yielded Moreno a vast collection of archaeological and anthropological data and artifacts, for which he founded an anthropological museum in Buenos Aires in 1877.
Francisco Moreno