Crossword Puzzles

The history of crossword puzzles is interesting but involves a very short history. Crossword puzzles are considered to be the most popular of all word games across the globe, and also the most widespread. England was home to the very first known crossword puzzles, and that dates back to the 19th century. This very first crossword puzzle was juvenile in its construction and was built around the word square. The collection of words used for the crossword were arranged in such a way that the words all read alike and ran in horizontal and vertical directions. The crossword was printed in a variety of periodicals of the time, as well as puzzle books meant for children.

In the United States crossword puzzles first emerged as a pastime for adults, as opposed to children. The very first known crossword to be published in the United States was created by a journalist named Arthur Wynne who was from Liverpool. He has been credited with being the creator of crossword puzzles. The crossword puzzle first appeared in a Sunday newspaper called the New York World on Sunday December 21, 1913.

The first puzzle created by Wynne was slightly different than the modern day crossword puzzles. It was shaped like a diamond and contained no internal black squares whatsoever. The puzzle was a hit right from the moment it first showed up in the newspaper.

In the early 1920’s other newspapers throughout the country began to publish crossword puzzles. By the time a decade had passed, almost every newspaper in the United States was featuring crossword puzzles for its readers to enjoy, at least once a week. It was during this span of time that crossword puzzles began to take the form that we identify today as being a modern crossword puzzle. Ten years after crossword puzzles were born and came alive in the United States, they found their way across the water to Europe.

The very first crossword puzzle to appear in a British publication was in February 1922 when a crossword was featured in Pearson’s Magazine. The first Times crossword puzzle made an appearance on February 1, 1930. British puzzles develop in a different way from American crossword puzzles, taking on a more complex and difficult quality. One of the most popular forms of crossword puzzles to emerge from Britain was the cryptic crossword which quickly grew in popularity. The rules for solving a cryptic crossword puzzle were established by two individuals- A.F. Ritchie and D.S. Macnutt.