Samuel Loyd

    Always known as Sam, Samuel Loyd was the creator of famous mathematical puzzles and recreations. When he was 14 years old, he began to attend a chess club with his brothers Thomas and Isaac. While still at school, Loyd won prizes for his chess problems. He began submitting problems to Chess Monthly and he became the problem editor of the magazine in 1857. After leaving school Loyd began to study engineering, intending to become a steam and mechanical engineer, but he found he could make his living from his puzzles and chess problems. By 1870 Loyd had become more interested in composing mathematical puzzles than chess problems.

Info from http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Loyd.html.