Joseph Park Babcock (1893 – 1949), American popularizer of
Mahjong, was born in
Lafayette
Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to:
People
* Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette
* House of La Fayette, a French noble family
** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757â ...
,
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
. After graduating from
Purdue University
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and mone ...
with a degree in
Civil Engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...
, he worked for the
Standard Oil Company. In 1912 he was sent to
Soochow
Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...
,
China, as a representative of Standard Oil. There he and his wife enjoyed playing the Chinese tile game. He created a
simplified version of Mahjong with a goal of introducing the game to America. He trademarked the spelling "Mah-Jongg" which he apparently coined. His ''Rules of Mah-Jongg'', or the red book, (1920) was used as a rule book for English language players.
The game quickly became popular, but several versions were played. In 1924, the Standardization Committee of the American Official Laws of Mah-Jongg was formed. Babcock was an integral member, and the committee published a standardized rule set. Many game sets were then produced in the United States by several companies.
Babcock died in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
of a heart attack in 1949.
Works on Mah-Jongg
*
*
Notes
References
Mah Jong Museum
1893 births
1949 deaths
Mahjong
20th-century American non-fiction writers
Purdue University alumni
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