The Oxford English Dictionary says simply that Kilroy was "the name of a mythical person".[5] One theory identifies James J. Kilroy (1902–1962) as the man behind the signature,[14] an American shipyard inspector.[5] The New York Times indicated J.J. Kilroy as the origin in 1946, based on the results of a contest conducted by the American Transit Association[7][15] to establish the origin of the phenomenon.[16] The article noted that Kilroy had marked the ships as they were being built as a way to be sure that he had inspected a compartment, and the phrase would be found chalked in places that nobody could have reached for graffiti, such as inside sealed hull spaces.[15] Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable notes this as a possible origin, but suggests that "the phrase grew by accident."[4]