Origins & Early Life

Alfred Mosher Butts (April 13, 1899 – April 4, 1993) was an American architect, famous for inventing the board game Scrabble in 1931. Alfred Mosher Butts was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, on April 13, 1899, to Allison Butts and Arrie Elizabeth Mosher. His father was a lawyer, and his mother a high school teacher. Alfred attended Poughkeepsie High School and graduated in 1917.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

He then graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in architecture in 1924. He was also an amateur artist, and six of his drawings were acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Butts and his wife, Nina, who died circa 1979, were married for 54 years; they had no children. He died on April 4, 1993, nine days before his 94th birthday. In the early 1930s, after working as an architect but now unemployed, Butts set out to design a board game.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

He studied existing games and found that games fell into three categories: number games, such as dice and bingo; move games, such as chess and checkers; and word games, such as anagrams. Butts was a resident of Jackson Heights, New York, and the game of Scrabble was invented there. To memorialize his importance...

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• 1899 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1899
• April 13 (04-13) On This Day — Historical birthdays and events on April 13
• 1993 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1993
• April 4 (04-04) On This Day — Historical events and memorials on April 4