The 9th National Spelling Bee 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 May 30, 1933, organized 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 ...

would not sponsor the Bee until 1941. The winner was 12-year-old Alma Roach of

Twinsburg, Ohio Twinsburg is a suburban city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, located about halfway between Akron and Cleveland. The population was 19,248 as of the 2020 census. It is part of the Akron metropolitan area. History In 1817 Ethan Alling, then ...

, sponsored by the

Akron Beacon Journal The ''Akron Beacon Journal'' is a morning newspaper in Akron, Ohio, United States. Owned by Gannett, it is the sole daily newspaper in Akron and is distributed throughout Northeast Ohio. The paper's coverage focuses on local news. The Beacon J ...

, correctly spelling the word ''torsion''. George Meltzer (age 14) of New Jersey placed second(15 October 2012)
George Meltzer (obituary)
''The Jersey Journal'' (missing ''propitiatory''), followed by 13-year-old Virginia Wood in third (missing ''holocaust'').(30 May 1933)
Paper's National Spelling Bee Won By Akron Girl, 12
''Schenectady Gazette'' Roach won $500 for first place (a drop from the usual $1000), followed by $300 for second, and $100 for third. The event was broadcast on radio.(28 May 1933)
On WABC
''Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' Roach (married name Mercer) became a teacher, retiring from Solon Middle School in her hometown of Twinsburg in 1983. She died at

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...

General Hospital on July 31, 2003.(2 August 2003)
Alma R. (Roach) Mercer (obituary)
''Akron Beacon-Journal''

References

{{Scripps National Spelling Bee 09 1933 in Washington, D.C. 1933 in education May 1933 events