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XWord Info Home Oldest constructors at publication

Constructors who debuted as teenagers

Here is the list of the 76 constructors who are known to have debuted before they turned 20.

Count shows the total number of published NYT crosswords.

The teens from youngest to oldest at debut:

	Name	Birthday	Debut	Age at debut	Count	Editor
1.	Harrison Walden *	Oct 21, 2011	Sun Jun 21, 2020	3,166 days - 8 yr. 8 mo.	2	Shortz
2.	Daniel Larsen	Sep 18, 2003	Tue Feb 14, 2017	4,898 days - 13 yr. 4 mo.	11	Shortz
3.	Arthur Bennett	Jul 5, 1955	Thu May 22, 1969	5,070 days - 13 yr. 10 mo.	3	Weng
4.	Michael W. Miller	Nov 20, 1962	Mon Dec 6, 1976	5,130 days - 14 yr. 0 mo.	2	Weng
5.	Ben Pall	Sep 8, 1995	Mon Nov 23, 2009	5,190 days - 14 yr. 2 mo.	5	Shortz
6.	August Lee-Kovach	Apr 25, 2007	Sat Oct 9, 2021	5,281 days - 14 yr. 5 mo.	4	Shortz
7.	David Steinberg	Nov 24, 1996	Thu Jun 16, 2011	5,317 days - 14 yr. 6 mo.	112	Shortz
8.	Paolo Pasco	May 10, 2000	Fri Jul 17, 2015	5,546 days - 15 yr. 2 mo.	27	Shortz
9.	Caleb Madison	Jan 29, 1993	Tue May 13, 2008	5,583 days - 15 yr. 3 mo.	35	Shortz
10.	Milo Beckman	Dec 9, 1995	Fri Jun 24, 2011	5,676 days - 15 yr. 6 mo.	10	Shortz
11.	Tyler Hinman	Nov 5, 1984	Tue Jul 4, 2000	5,720 days - 15 yr. 7 mo.	22	Shortz
12.	Paul Schwarzbaum	Apr 9, 1962	Tue Mar 21, 1978	5,825 days - 15 yr. 11 mo.	2	Maleska
13.	José Chardiet	Jun 16, 1994	Tue Jul 6, 2010	5,864 days - 16 yr. 0 mo.	3	Shortz
14.	Matt Fuchs	Jun 28, 1998	Mon Jul 21, 2014	5,867 days - 16 yr. 0 mo.	3	Shortz
15.	Ethan Cooper	Mar 23, 1983	Mon May 17, 1999	5,899 days - 16 yr. 1 mo.	15	Shortz
16.	Ailee Yoshida	Jun 2, 2006	Tue Oct 11, 2022	5,975 days - 16 yr. 4 mo.	2	Shortz
17.	Will Nediger	Dec 4, 1989	Sat May 27, 2006	6,018 days - 16 yr. 5 mo.	52	Shortz
18.	Simon Marotte	Aug 25, 2004	Tue Mar 9, 2021	6,040 days - 16 yr. 6 mo.	8	Shortz
19.	Owen Bergstein	May 26, 2008	Sat Dec 14, 2024	6,046 days - 16 yr. 6 mo.	1	Fagliano
20.	Tarun Krishnamurthy	Dec 15, 2007	Mon Jul 15, 2024	6,057 days - 16 yr. 6 mo.	1	Fagliano
21.	Natan Last	Nov 13, 1990	Tue Jul 17, 2007	6,090 days - 16 yr. 8 mo.	41	Shortz
22.	Francesco Trogu	May 25, 1995	Mon Jan 30, 2012	6,094 days - 16 yr. 8 mo.	1	Shortz
23.	Michael Shteyman	May 9, 1984	Tue Feb 13, 2001	6,124 days - 16 yr. 9 mo.	55	Shortz
24.	Jackson Matz	Mar 30, 2007	Fri Mar 8, 2024	6,188 days - 16 yr. 11 mo.	3	Shortz
25.	Saul Pink	Oct 14, 2002	Tue Oct 22, 2019	6,217 days - 17 yr. 0 mo.	1	Shortz
26.	Kyle Mahowald	Mar 7, 1987	Mon Mar 22, 2004	6,225 days - 17 yr. 0 mo.	18	Shortz
27.	Samuel Smalley	Apr 24, 2006	Sat May 27, 2023	6,242 days - 17 yr. 1 mo.	1	Shortz
28.	Merl Reagle	Jan 5, 1950	Sat Feb 11, 1967	6,246 days - 17 yr. 1 mo.	10	Farrar
29.	Sam Ezersky *	May 29, 1995	Sat Jul 28, 2012	6,270 days - 17 yr. 1 mo.	59	Shortz
30.	Oliver Hill	Jul 30, 1990	Tue Oct 2, 2007	6,273 days - 17 yr. 2 mo.	16	Shortz
31.	Joel Fagliano	Aug 9, 1992	Thu Oct 22, 2009	6,283 days - 17 yr. 2 mo.	71	Shortz
32.	Benjamin Lauring *	Aug 20, 2000	Mon Nov 6, 2017	6,287 days - 17 yr. 2 mo.	2	Shortz
33.	Đặng Quang Thắng	Dec 4, 2005	Mon May 22, 2023	6,378 days - 17 yr. 5 mo.	1	Shortz
34.	Ada Nicolle	Dec 26, 2001	Wed Jul 17, 2019	6,412 days - 17 yr. 6 mo.	4	Shortz
35.	Lindsay McBride	Jun 2, 2005	Wed Jan 18, 2023	6,439 days - 17 yr. 7 mo.	1	Shortz
36.	Luke K. Schreiber	Apr 19, 2006	Mon Dec 11, 2023	6,445 days - 17 yr. 7 mo.	4	Shortz
37.	Garrett Chalfin	Nov 15, 2004	Mon Aug 1, 2022	6,468 days - 17 yr. 8 mo.	9	Shortz
38.	Nathan Hasegawa	Jun 25, 2003	Wed Apr 14, 2021	6,503 days - 17 yr. 9 mo.	2	Shortz
39.	John Westwig	Aug 20, 1997	Mon Jul 20, 2015	6,543 days - 17 yr. 10 mo.	9	Shortz
40.	Soleil Saint-Cyr	Feb 13, 2003	Mon Feb 1, 2021	6,563 days - 17 yr. 11 mo.	1	Shortz
41.	Aidan Deshong	Jun 10, 2006	Fri May 31, 2024	6,565 days - 17 yr. 11 mo.	2	Fagliano
42.	Finn Vigeland	Aug 7, 1992	Wed Oct 20, 2010	6,648 days - 18 yr. 2 mo.	21	Shortz
43.	Jonah Kagan *	Jul 8, 1991	Tue Dec 1, 2009	6,721 days - 18 yr. 4 mo.	6	Shortz
44.	Josh Kindler	Feb 7, 2004	Wed Jul 20, 2022	6,738 days - 18 yr. 5 mo.	1	Shortz
45.	Adam Aaronson	Jul 12, 2001	Sat Jan 4, 2020	6,750 days - 18 yr. 5 mo.	14	Shortz
46.	Billy Bratton	Mar 17, 2003	Thu Sep 9, 2021	6,751 days - 18 yr. 5 mo.	10	Shortz
47.	Jem Burch	Oct 24, 2002	Thu Apr 22, 2021	6,755 days - 18 yr. 5 mo.	7	Shortz
48.	Arthur Schulman	Feb 17, 1935	Mon Aug 24, 1953	6,763 days - 18 yr. 6 mo.	87	Farrar
49.	Alex Vratsanos	Nov 16, 1992	Mon Jun 13, 2011	6,783 days - 18 yr. 6 mo.	19	Shortz
50.	Harry Zheng	May 31, 2005	Mon Jan 1, 2024	6,789 days - 18 yr. 7 mo.	2	Shortz
51.	Rena Cohen	Feb 24, 2006	Thu Oct 3, 2024	6,796 days - 18 yr. 7 mo.	3	Fagliano
52.	Matthew L. Jones	Mar 10, 1976	Fri Nov 4, 1994	6,813 days - 18 yr. 7 mo.	3	Shortz
53.	Patrick John Duggan	Sep 18, 1989	Fri May 23, 2008	6,822 days - 18 yr. 8 mo.	6	Shortz
54.	Zachary Spitz	Feb 7, 1997	Wed Nov 18, 2015	6,858 days - 18 yr. 9 mo.	6	Shortz
55.	Lucas Gaviotis Whitestone	Nov 19, 1989	Wed Sep 10, 2008	6,870 days - 18 yr. 9 mo.	1	Shortz
56.	Kelsey Boes	Aug 18, 1992	Tue Jun 21, 2011	6,881 days - 18 yr. 10 mo.	1	Shortz
57.	Harold P. Furth	Jan 13, 1930	Sun Dec 12, 1948	6,908 days - 18 yr. 10 mo.	1	Farrar
58.	Michael J. Doran	Sep 28, 1984	Tue Sep 16, 2003	6,927 days - 18 yr. 11 mo.	7	Shortz
59.	Jeffrey Harris	Aug 22, 1985	Mon Aug 30, 2004	6,948 days - 19 yr. 0 mo.	4	Shortz
60.	Erik Agard	Sep 12, 1993	Tue Nov 6, 2012	6,995 days - 19 yr. 1 mo.	80	Shortz
61.	Paul G. Remley	Aug 22, 1955	Fri Nov 15, 1974	7,025 days - 19 yr. 2 mo.	6	Weng
62.	Clara Williamson	Aug 29, 1996	Wed Nov 25, 2015	7,027 days - 19 yr. 2 mo.	1	Shortz
63.	Zach Jesse	Sep 1, 1984	Mon Jan 19, 2004	7,079 days - 19 yr. 4 mo.	2	Shortz
64.	Owen Travis *	Jul 10, 2001	Wed Dec 9, 2020	7,092 days - 19 yr. 5 mo.	2	Shortz
65.	Joey Weissbrot	Nov 6, 1989	Wed Apr 8, 2009	7,093 days - 19 yr. 5 mo.	2	Shortz
66.	David Litman	Feb 27, 2004	Mon Jul 31, 2023	7,094 days - 19 yr. 5 mo.	1	Shortz
67.	Spencer Leach	Dec 4, 2003	Sat May 13, 2023	7,100 days - 19 yr. 5 mo.	6	Shortz
68.	Nina Sloan	Nov 12, 2001	Tue May 4, 2021	7,113 days - 19 yr. 5 mo.	1	Shortz
69.	Duncan Kimmel	Apr 13, 1996	Wed Nov 25, 2015	7,165 days - 19 yr. 7 mo.	1	Shortz
70.	Zoe Wheeler	May 23, 1990	Tue Jan 19, 2010	7,181 days - 19 yr. 7 mo.	6	Shortz
71.	Henry Hook	Sep 18, 1955	Fri May 23, 1975	7,187 days - 19 yr. 8 mo.	59	Weng
72.	Anna Shechtman	Aug 30, 1990	Wed May 26, 2010	7,209 days - 19 yr. 8 mo.	3	Shortz
73.	Anne Larsen	Nov 26, 1999	Fri Sep 13, 2019	7,231 days - 19 yr. 9 mo.	2	Shortz
74.	Conor Sefkow	Dec 16, 2001	Tue Oct 12, 2021	7,240 days - 19 yr. 9 mo.	1	Shortz
75.	Jack Mowat	Nov 24, 1999	Fri Sep 27, 2019	7,247 days - 19 yr. 10 mo.	2	Shortz
76.	Aimee Lucido	Oct 30, 1990	Mon Sep 13, 2010	7,258 days - 19 yr. 10 mo.	17	Shortz

* co-constructed with a non-teen

The 2020 Father's Day crossword was co-written by 8-year-old Harrison Waldon and his dad Byron. He was 4,882 days old when he made his solo debut, beating second-place Daniel Larsen by 16 days.

Another young constructor of note was Charles Gersch who had his first crossword published in the New York Herald Tribune on February 21, 1944, when he was exactly 13.5 years old. (He made his Times debut in 1951.)

At the other extreme, the oldest NYT constructor is certainly Bernice Gordon. She authored this puzzle at age 95: (Solve, Solution), then this one a year later at age 96: (Solve, Solution), this one at age 97:(Solve, Solution), and this one at 98: (Solve, Solution).

Then, amazingly, Ms. Gordon became the first centenarian constructor by having this puzzle published at age 100: (Solve, Solution), and then this one co-constructed with a teenager the next August: (Solve, Solution). See the list of the oldest known constructors.

Number of teen debuts by Editor:

Shortz:	64
Weng:	4
Fagliano:	4
Farrar:	3
Maleska:	1

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