Architect, Inventor. Creator of the word game "Scrabble". A 1924 graduate of Pennsylvania State, he found himself unemployed during the Depression. He decided to devise a board game, and his first attempt, in 1934, was a letter game called "Lexiko". It was rejected by Milton Bradley, Parker Brothers and Simon and Schuster. Butts was once again employed as an architect in 1938, but kept refining his game, renaming it "Criss Cross Words". In 1948, Mr. and Mrs. James Brunot were authorized by Butts to manufacture the game under the name of "Scrabble". By 1952, the Brunots could no longer keep up with the demand, and licensed Selchow and Righter to market and distribute it. One hundred million sets of "Scrabble" have been sold world-wide.
Architect, Inventor. Creator of the word game "Scrabble". A 1924 graduate of Pennsylvania State, he found himself unemployed during the Depression. He decided to devise a board game, and his first attempt, in 1934, was a letter game called "Lexiko". It was rejected by Milton Bradley, Parker Brothers and Simon and Schuster. Butts was once again employed as an architect in 1938, but kept refining his game, renaming it "Criss Cross Words". In 1948, Mr. and Mrs. James Brunot were authorized by Butts to manufacture the game under the name of "Scrabble". By 1952, the Brunots could no longer keep up with the demand, and licensed Selchow and Righter to market and distribute it. One hundred million sets of "Scrabble" have been sold world-wide.
Bio by: Ginny M
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