The 1st

National Spelling Bee The Scripps National Spelling Bee (formerly the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee and commonly called the National Spelling Bee) is an annual spelling bee held in the United States. The bee is run on a not-for-profit basis by The E. W. Scrip ...

was held in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

on June 17, 1925, sponsored by the ''

Louisville Courier-Journal The ''Courier Journal'', also known as the ''Louisville Courier Journal'' (and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), and called ''The Courier-Journal'' between November 8, 1868, and October 29, 2017, is the highest circulation newspape ...

''.

Scripps-Howard The E. W. Scripps Company is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a media conglomerate. The company is he ...

did not sponsor the Bee until 1941.

Competition

Nine finalists (six girls and three boys) competed in Washington, where they met President

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...

before the competition. After a 90-minute competition, the winner was 11-year-old

Frank Neuhauser Frank Louis Neuhauser (September 29, 1913 – March 11, 2011) was an American patent lawyer and spelling bee champion, who won the first National Spelling Bee (now known as the Scripps National Spelling Bee) in 1925 by successfully spelling the ...

of Kentucky who correctly spelled ''gladiolus'', a flower he had raised as a boy.Maguire, James
American Bee: The National Spelling Bee and the Culture of Word Nerds
pp. 68–69 (2006)(23 March 2011
Lifelong fame for spelling bee champ
''Catholic Herald'' (2011 reprint of 8 August 2008 article) He won $500 in gold pieces for placing first, and Louisville held a parade in his honor. Coming in second place was 11-year-old Edna Stover of

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County, Ohio, Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 C ...

($150) who missed "moribund", and fourth prize went to 13-year-old Mary Daniel of

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

($100) who missed "valuing".(18 June 1925). ''11 Year old Wins $500 in Spelling Bee'', ''Ogden Standard Examiner'' (Associated Press)(18 June 1925). Kentucky Boy Crowned King of U.S. Spellers, ''San Antonio Light'' (Associated Press) The first to fall in the competition of nine was Almeda Pennington on "skittish" (9th place), followed by Mary Coddens ("cosmos") (8th place), Loren Mackey ("propeller") (7th place), Patrick Kelly ("blackguard") (6th place), and Dorothy Karrick ("statistician") (5th place). The nine contestants in the first bee were: Dorothy Katrick (Detroit), Helen Fischer (Akron, Ohio), Edna Stover (Trenton, New Jersey), Patrick Keily (New Haven, Connecticut), Lorin Mackey (Oklahoma), Frank Neuhauser (Kentucky), Almeda Pennington (Houston, Texas), Mary Daniel (Hartford, Connecticut), and Mary Coddens (South Bend, Indiana).(2 July 1925)
Coolidge Greets Spelling Champs
''Oakland Tribune'' Dr. George S. Wills served as pronouncer.(17 May 1953)
Spelling Bee Still Growing - Professor Recalls Opening Contest
''

Eugene Register-Guard ''The Register-Guard'' is a daily newspaper in the northwestern United States, published in Eugene, Oregon. It was formed in a 1930 merger of two Eugene papers, the ''Eugene Daily Guard'' and the ''Morning Register''. The paper serves the Eugene- ...

'' (

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

)

References

{{Scripps National Spelling Bee 01 1925 in Washington, D.C. 1925 in education June 1925 events