John Spilsbury
John Spilsbury (* 1739 ; † April 3, 1769 ) was a British cartographer and engraver. But he is best known as the inventor of the puzzle .
Life
John Spilsbury was the middle of three sons of Thomas Spilsbury. His older brother was the engraver Jonathan Spilsbury ; the two brothers are often confused because of their similar names. He was trained by Thomas Jefferys , King George III's royal geographer .
This is how the idea for the first puzzle arose out of his job: in 1766 he cut out the different countries on a map of the world on wood in order to teach geography. Later he made such jigsaw puzzles - "jigsaw puzzles" - for the individual continents as well as England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Spilsbury, John |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British cartographer and engraver |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1739 |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 3, 1769 |