Joseph Pulitzer, a British Editor, and the First Crossword Puzzle

In ‘This Week in History,’ a struggling newspaper became the nation’s largest and gave the world its first crossword puzzle.

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Joseph Pulitzer, a British Editor, and the First Crossword Puzzle — The introduction and publication of crossword puzzles helped create a loyal readership for newspapers. Robert Kneschke/Shutterstock

By Dustin Bass

12/14/2024Updated: 12/14/2024

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The New York World newspaper had a tumultuous beginning. It was founded by Alexander Cummings in 1860 as a Christian-centric penny paper. When the Civil War began the following year, the newspaper became one of many pro-Lincoln publications. It was not a profitable paper, and by 1863, it was sold to a consortium of New York City Democrats, who used it as an anti-Lincoln publication.

In May of 1864, a man pretending to be a member of the Associated Press delivered a fabricated story that Lincoln was planning to enlist 400,000 more volunteers for the Union Army via “immediate and peremptory draft.” Most of the city newspapers checked the validity of the claim. The New York World and the New York Journal of Commerce did not, and printed the story.

In New York City, during the summer of 1863, there had been the violent and deadly Draft Riots. The threat of another draft would no doubt result in a similar outcome. President Abraham Lincoln signed an executive order commanding Maj. Gen. John Dix to “arrest and imprison … the editors, proprietors, and publishers of the aforesaid newspapers … after public notice has been given of the falsehood of said publication … [and] take possession by military force of the printing establishments of the New York World and Journal of Commerce, and hold the same until further orders, and prohibit any further publication therefrom.”

Pulitzer’s Prize

The federal government shut the New York World down for two days in 1864. Less than a year later, the war was over, but the newspaper’s financial troubles continued. By the late 1870s, the publication was losing $40,000 per year. In 1883, the newspaper would be saved by one of history’s great newspapermen: Joseph Pulitzer. Pulitzer purchased the paper from owner Jay Gould, the railroad magnate.

A chromolithograph of Pulitzer superimposed on a composite of his newspapers. (Public Domain) — A chromolithograph of Pulitzer superimposed on a composite of his newspapers. Public Domain

The World’s focus would be to champion the causes of average Americans. The publication printed human-interest stories, as well as investigative pieces. The paper’s sensational headlines certainly helped sales, but what truly helped was Pulitzer’s promise to “expose all fraud and sham, fight all public evils and abuses, and to battle for the people with earnest sincerity.” Unlike its early years, The World, under Pulitzer’s guidance, seemed to do everything right.

In 1885, Pulitzer used his paper to raise funds for and promote the construction of the pedestal for the Statue of Liberty. The promotional effort also helped increase newspaper subscriptions. The same year, Pulitzer, who understood the importance of illustrations, hired one of the nation’s best illustrators: Richard Outcault. His “Yellow Kid” was a huge success and helped galvanize the use of comic strips in newspapers and eventually gave rise to the term “yellow journalism” (that is, sensationalized journalism).

In 1887, Pulitzer hired Nellie Bly, whose investigative journalism on subjects like poverty, labor disputes, and housing issues in New York City increased readership. Bly’s creative and adventurous spirit was placed on the forefront when she suggested the newspaper sponsor an around-the-world trip. Inspired by Jules Verne’s “Around the World in Eighty Days,” Bly took on the challenge to break the fictional record, and traveled the globe in 72 days. These, and many other front office decisions, helped make The World the country’s largest newspaper by the 1890s.

Newspaper Wars

There was hardly a better way to demonstrate this journalistic dominance than by building a new office for the newspaper. On Oct. 10, 1889, construction began for The World Building. When it was completed on Dec. 10, 1890, it was the tallest building in New York City and the world’s tallest office building, reaching 309 feet. The year 1890 was the last time Pulitzer entered the newsroom due to his fragile health.

While construction was being completed on The World Building, and Pulitzer was easing away from the hectic demands of the newsroom, a 19-year-old Englishman from Liverpool arrived in Pittsburgh to become an American journalist. His first job was with the Pittsburgh Press. Over the years, Arthur Wynne worked his way up the corporate ladder of journalism, and eventually moved to New York City.

"Yellow Kid," created by Richard Outcault. (Public Domain) — "Yellow Kid," created by Richard Outcault. Public Domain

Throughout the rest of the 19th century, a newsroom war would take place between Pulitzer’s New York World and William Randolph Hearst’s New York Journal. One of the first moves Hearst made against Pulitzer was offering Outcault a much higher salary. When Outcault accepted, Pulitzer countered by hiring George Luks to continue the “Yellow Kid” comic. With apparently no copyright infringement, both papers produced the comic. Hearst then offered Pulitzer’s staff increased salaries. Most accepted. Pulitzer responded by raising the salary amount. Hearst only raised again. The competition seemed to hit its peak between the years of 1896 and 1898 in which both papers sensationalized events leading up to the Spanish-American War, specifically after the USS Maine unexplainably exploded off the coast of Cuba. It was the height of “yellow journalism.” After the war, Pulitzer reined in the paper’s sensationalism.

Pulitzer believed this type of journalism was a detriment not only to the profession, but to the American public. In 1904, he recommended the establishment of journalism schools and stated, “Our Republic and its press will rise or fall together. An able, disinterested, public-spirited press, with trained intelligence to know the right and courage to do it, can preserve that public virtue without which popular government is a sham and a mockery. A cynical, mercenary, demagogic press will produce in time a people as base as itself. The power to mould the future of the Republic will be in the hands of the journalists of future generations.”

Wynne Gets FUN

When Pulitzer died in 1911, the paper’s ownership transferred to his son Ralph. That same year, The World launched a Sunday color supplemental section called FUN. The section of the newspaper printed brain teasers, like puzzles and riddles. By 1913, Wynne was the editor of the section.

As the Christmas season approached, Wynne was requested by his editor to come up with a new addition for the section. As a child, Wynne had enjoyed “magic squares.” These puzzles were popular thousands of years ago in places like China and the Middle East. The goal of a “magic square” is to array varied numbers in small squares encompassed by a large square. The addition of these numbers whether horizontal, vertical or diagonal should equal the same number. This childhood fascination gave Wynne an idea, and it was an idea that would forever change the way Americans entertained themselves.

Recreation of Arthur Wynne's crossword puzzle from Dec. 21, 1913. (Public Domain) — Recreation of Arthur Wynne's crossword puzzle from Dec. 21, 1913. Public Domain

It was during this week in history, on Dec. 21, 1913, that the first crossword puzzle was published. Wynne created a diamond-shaped puzzle with 72 small boxes (34 of them numbered and three at the top spelling “FUN”) and a list of clues with connecting numbers below the puzzle, like “2—3 what bargain hunters enjoy” and “3—12 Part of a ship.” When the game was published, it was called “FUN’s Word-Cross Puzzle.”

In true Pulitzer fashion, it was an instant hit with readers. The name, however, would only last a few weeks. Ironically for a word game, it was a spelling error that gave the puzzle its longstanding name. The typesetter accidentally flipped the words and printed “FUN’s Cross-Word Puzzle.” There was no complaint from Wynne and the name stuck.

Puzzles and the New Girl

Wynne had given the country a new way to challenge themselves while at the same time diverting their attention from the bad news that typically filled the newspapers. The country would need it in the coming years as World War I erupted in 1914, and America joined the fight in 1917. For Wynne, however, he had created a monster.

Readers of The World clamored for the puzzle, leading Wynne to request readers to submit their own puzzles for publication. This took the pressure off of Wynne to create a new puzzle each week, while encouraging reader engagement. It didn’t take long for Wynne to have more puzzles than he knew what to do with. In March 17, 1915, Wynne placed a note above the published puzzle, stating, “The puzzle editor has kindly figured out that the present supply will last until the second week in December, 2100.”

In 1921, Wynne handed much of the work to newcomer Margaret Petherbridge, who had been secretary to John O'Hara Cosgrave, The World’s Sunday editor. A graduate of Smith College and aspiring journalist, she loathed the assignment and had the puzzles published without taking much of a glance at them. When the paper hired the preeminent columnist Franklin Pierce Adams from the New York Tribune, he reamed out the puzzle department for their lack of care.

It was enough to convince Petherbridge that the crossword puzzle was an important part of the paper, and she set high standards for the puzzles moving forward.

A New Phenomenon

Interestingly, similar to “Yellow Kid,” neither the New York World nor Wynne ever copyrighted the idea. In 1924, Richard Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster decided to publish a collection of puzzles for their publishing house’s first book. The company hired Petheridge to edit the collection. Publishing the book was more of a favor to Simon’s aunt than an attempt at cornering a new market.

With very little expectations, the company didn’t even place their emblem on the book. But the 3,600 first print copies quickly sold out. The company sold around 400,000 copies in the first year. The crossword puzzle was officially an American phenomenon. Petheridge maintained her crossword editing relationship with Simon and Schuster for the next 60 years—“the longest-running continuous series in American publishing history.”

Simon & Schuster continues the tradition of publishing crossword puzzle books today.

The New York Times was the last holdout among large American newspapers. Two months after the Pearl Harbor attack, the executives of the nation’s paper of record relented and decided to publish a weekly crossword puzzle, but one worthy of the paper. For that task, they hired Petheridge, helping create what is now “the gold standard” of crossword puzzles.

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