A few facts we know are that Arthur Wynne is credited with the invention of the modern crossword puzzle, that the first of these was published in the New York World newspaper on December 21, 1913, and that the New York Times first included a puzzle in its Sunday edition on February, 15, 1942. We also know that puzzles printed are selected from a number of various puzzle contributors. Beyond that, we have many questions. The Library Society is pleased to host an evening with Derrick Niederman, the incredible personality who also happens to be the longest running of all the NYT crossword puzzle contributors. Join us to hear from the person who has been creating our mind conundrums for more than 40 years.
Tickets*: PURCHASE HERE
$10 – Members or $15 – General Admission
About Derrick Niederman:
Derrick Niederman has been making crossword puzzles since 1981, when he was completing his Ph.D. in mathematics from M.I.T. (B.A. in mathematics from Yale.) He pursued a career in the investment industry, where he began as a fixed-income analyst and ended as a financial writer and columnist. Niederman returned to mathematics in 2011 when he moved to South Carolina and joined the mathematics faculty at the College of Charleston. By that time he had published more than 50 crosswords of various sizes and stripes, including 20 for the Sunday New York Times. Today, Niederman is the longest contributor to the Sunday Times New York Crossword Puzzles. Niederman is also the author of a dozen books, on topics ranging from investments to quantitative reasoning and, of course, to puzzles. In addition to puzzle creation, Niederman has produced three successful games for Thinkfun, a high-end game company. When away from his desk, he is a seasoned duplicate bridge enthusiast and a tournament-caliber squash player, with several national age group doubles title and one national singles title to his credit.