Arthur Wynne
Encyclopedia
Arthur Wynne was the British
-born inventor of the crossword puzzle
.
, England
. He immigrated into the United States
on June 6, 1891 at the age of 19.
Arthur Wynne settled for a time in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
, where he worked on the Pittsburgh Press
newspaper and played the violin in the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
. He later moved to New York City
and worked on the New York World
newspaper. He is best-known for the invention of the crossword puzzle
in 1913, when he was a resident of Cedar Grove, New Jersey
..
Wynne created the page of puzzles for the Fun section of the Sunday edition of the New York World. For the December 21, 1913 edition, he introduced a puzzle with a diamond shape and a hollow center, the letters F-U-N already being filled in. He called it a "Word-Cross Puzzle".
Although Wynne's invention was based on earlier puzzle forms, such as the word "diamond", he introduced a number of innovations (e.g. the use of horizontal and vertical lines to create boxes for solvers to enter letters). He subsequently pioneered the use of black squares in a symmetrical arrangement to separate words in rows and columns. With the exception of the numbering scheme, the form of Wynne's "Word-Cross" puzzles is that used for modern crosswords.
A few weeks after the first "Word-Cross" appeared, the name of the puzzle was change to "Cross-Word" as a result of a typesetting error. Wynne's puzzles have been known as "crosswords" ever since.
in the 1920s. He died in Clearwater, Florida
on January 14, 1945.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-born inventor of the crossword puzzle
Crossword
A crossword is a word puzzle that normally takes the form of a square or rectangular grid of white and shaded squares. The goal is to fill the white squares with letters, forming words or phrases, by solving clues which lead to the answers. In languages that are written left-to-right, the answer...
.
Early life
Arthur Wynne was born on June 22, 1871 in LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He immigrated into the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on June 6, 1891 at the age of 19.
Career
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, where he worked on the Pittsburgh Press
Pittsburgh Press
The Pittsburgh Press is an online newspaper in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, currently owned and operated by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Historically, it was a major afternoon paper...
newspaper and played the violin in the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The orchestra's home is Heinz Hall, located in Pittsburgh's Cultural District.-History:...
. He later moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and worked on the New York World
New York World
The New York World was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers...
newspaper. He is best-known for the invention of the crossword puzzle
Crossword
A crossword is a word puzzle that normally takes the form of a square or rectangular grid of white and shaded squares. The goal is to fill the white squares with letters, forming words or phrases, by solving clues which lead to the answers. In languages that are written left-to-right, the answer...
in 1913, when he was a resident of Cedar Grove, New Jersey
Cedar Grove, New Jersey
-Climate:Cedar Grove has a humid subtropical climate, with warm/hot humid summers and cool/cold winters. The climate is slightly colder overall during the summer than in New York City because there is no urban heat island effect....
..
Wynne created the page of puzzles for the Fun section of the Sunday edition of the New York World. For the December 21, 1913 edition, he introduced a puzzle with a diamond shape and a hollow center, the letters F-U-N already being filled in. He called it a "Word-Cross Puzzle".
Although Wynne's invention was based on earlier puzzle forms, such as the word "diamond", he introduced a number of innovations (e.g. the use of horizontal and vertical lines to create boxes for solvers to enter letters). He subsequently pioneered the use of black squares in a symmetrical arrangement to separate words in rows and columns. With the exception of the numbering scheme, the form of Wynne's "Word-Cross" puzzles is that used for modern crosswords.
A few weeks after the first "Word-Cross" appeared, the name of the puzzle was change to "Cross-Word" as a result of a typesetting error. Wynne's puzzles have been known as "crosswords" ever since.
Later life and death
Arthur Wynne became a naturalized US citizenUnited States nationality law
Article I, section 8, clause 4 of the United States Constitution expressly gives the United States Congress the power to establish a uniform rule of naturalization. The Immigration and Naturalization Act sets forth the legal requirements for the acquisition of, and divestiture from, citizenship of...
in the 1920s. He died in Clearwater, Florida
Clearwater, Florida
Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, US, nearly due west of Tampa and northwest of St. Petersburg. In the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and in the east lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 108,787. It is the county seat of...
on January 14, 1945.