The father of the British-style crossword (or cryptic crossword) was Derrick Somerset Macnutt, housemaster at Christ's Hospital in
West Sussex, England. Under the pseudonym, Ximenes,
he set the 'Everyman' crossword for
The Observer newspaper from 1939 to his
death in 1971.
Mr Macnutt's choice of pseudonym was intended as tribute to his predecessor at The Observer, Edward Powys Mathers who died in 1939. Powys Mathers had used the pseudonym of Torquemada; the historical Torquemada was a Roman Catholic Cardinal and Spanish Grand Inquisitor, and Ximenes de Cisneros was his successor.
Ximenes was succeeded by Azed.
Further reading:
D. S. Macnutt Ximenes on the Art of the Crossword Methuen 1961 (re-issued by Swallowtail Books 2001)
http://home.freeuk.net/dharrison/ximenes/