One hundred years of crosswords

Arthur Wynne left England for the US, left farming for journalism, and then left millions delighting in solving his invention.

DEVOTEES of all kinds of crossword (cruciverbalists, some people coyly call them) saluted the memory of a Liverpool man who emigrated to the United States, abandoned onion farming for journalism, became editor of the New York World, and on Dec 21, 1913, filled a spare space in his paper with a device that he called a word cross, thus ensuring his name would be honoured on the anniversary as the inventor of crosswords.