Who invented the crossword puzzle?
Short Answer: Arthur Wynne.
Long Answer:
The first crosswords appeared in England during the 19th century. They were of an elementary kind, apparently derived from the word square, a group of words arranged so the letters read alike vertically and horizontally, and printed in children’s puzzle books and various periodicals. In the United States, however, the puzzle developed into a serious adult pastime. The first known published crossword puzzle was created by a journalist named Arthur Wynne from Liverpool, and he is usually credited as the inventor of the popular word game. December 21, 1913 was the date and it appeared in a Sunday newspaper, the New York World. However, cross words as a concept for phrases have continued to exist from 19th century onwards, but the term crossword puzzle was first used in 1913 when the diamond shaped crossword puzzle (without any black boxes) was made by Wynne.
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Vidit