Charles Kuhls author page

Charles Kuhls was one of the first constructors published in the Times. His sole known Times crossword appeared on July 5, 1942.

Like many early Times constructors, he was one of Margaret Farrar's longtime contributors to the Simon & Schuster crossword books, appearing there as early as 1928. In one edition, the editorial team noted:

Mr. Kuhls is well known and favorably — or unfavorably — to you all. We never introduce one of his constructions without getting out the red lanterns and setting the storm signals.

From early on, Mr. Kuhls' puzzles were noted for their ingenuity. In a 1929 syndicated crossword entitled "No Threes," his entries were all at least four letters (in an era when two-letter words were common). For a 1927 puzzle, his editors observed that a "goodly percentage" of the entries started with the same letter. One of his crosswords in 1930 used left-right mirror symmetry, prompting the editors to note that the "pattern takes on a different form from the usual familiar design.

Among Times constructors, he ranks highly in many "all time" categories. Originally from Germany, he is among the first immigrants published in the Times, joining J.C. Doesburg (Holland), Louis Shields (Poland), Alexis Boodberg (Russia), and Thomas Meekin (England). He is also one of the first constructors whose native language was not English.

Born in 1873, he is among the earliest-born Times constructors, a group that includes Mr. Boodberg (1869), Mr. Doesburg (1869), Harriot Cook (1871), Mabel Daggett (1873), Lester Keene (1874), Agnes Bartlett (1875), Mr. Meekin (1878), Mr. Shields (1881), and Charles Erlenkotter (1881). Many of these constructors were also Simon & Schuster contributors.

This generation was already in their 30s and 40s when crosswords were invented in 1913 (Mr. Kuhls was 40). When the Times launched its crossword in 1942, they were in their 60s and 70s, with Mr. Kuhls being 68.

Charles Louis Kuhls was born in Germany in 1873. In the 1880s, his family immigrated to the United States. They settled in Queens, where Charles' parents operated the Bethlehem Orphan Asylum, an orphanage affiliated with several local Protestant congregations.

Around the turn of the century, Mr. Kuhls was a teacher at the orphanage. By 1905, he joined the post office as a mail carrier, a position he would hold for decades. (Other Times constructors who worked for the postal service in New York include Eli Wesoff and the legendary Jules Arensberg).

In about 1907, Mr. Kuhls married Louise Bahrs. They lived in Brooklyn and had one child, Grace.

Mr. Kuhls passed away in May, 1952 at age 78. Six months later, a syndicated crossword appeared with the byline of his wife, Louise (her only known puzzle).