The end of a Harvard Magazine tradition

John de Cuevas ’52 will no longer contribute crossword puzzles to Harvard Magazine.

John de Cuevas ’52, who has for decades contributed original crossword puzzles to Harvard Magazine’s print and online editions, has announced that he will no longer produce new puzzles for the series. In an email, he wrote: 

Several readers have asked me why my puzzles no longer appear on the Harvard Magazine website. I answer, because I’m no longer up to speed. I turned 86 last October and in the last few years have experienced a slackening of mental and physical powers. I’m still putting puzzles on my website, www.puzzlecrypt.com, one every month, twelve a year, but the extra ones I was doing for Harvard are more than I can manage now. I’m sorry about that, but it’s out of my reach.

Thanks to all who asked about the puzzles and to the editors of Harvard Magazine for providing me an outlet for them these many years.

The magazine thanks de Cuevas for his many years of service and creativity. Below, find a puzzle he created for the magazine’s September-October 1986 issue, in celebration of Harvard’s 350th anniversary. 


Click image to enlarge. 
Courtesy of Harvard Magazine
Related topics

You might also like

Harvard Magazine March-April 2024 Scavenger Hunt

March-April 2024 Print Issue Scavenger Hunt

Using puzzles to teach physics

In his freshman seminar, Cumrun Vafa uses puzzles to help students understand complex physics.

Paolo Pasco and the art of making crosswords

Paolo Pasco and the art of making crosswords

Most popular

Zelia Nuttall

Brief life of a remarkable anthropologist (1857-1933)

Harvard Students Restore the Old Burying Ground

Members of the Hasty Pudding Institute help revive the graves of former Harvard presidents.

Why Men Are Falling Behind in Education, Employment, and Health

Can new approaches to education address a growing gender gap?

Explore More From Current Issue

Historic church steeple framed by bare tree branches against a clear sky.

Harvard’s Financial Challenges Lead to Difficult Choices

The University faces the consequences of the Trump administration—and its own bureaucracy.

Cover of "Harvard's Best" featuring a woman in a red and black gown holding a sword.

A Forgotten Harvard Anthem

Published the year the Titanic sank, “Harvard’s Best” is a quizzical ode to the University.

Black and white photo of a large mushroom cloud rising above the horizon.

Open Book: A New Nuclear Age

Harvard historian Serhii Plokhy’s latest book looks at the rising danger of a new arms race.