1937

The 13th National Spelling Bee took place on May 25th, 1937. It was held at the National Museum Auditorium in Washington, D.C., and 16 spellers participated.

Third-place finisher Angelo Mangieri of Jersey City, New Jersey, was the first blind speller to compete in the National Competition.

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About the 13th Bee

Champion

Waneeta Beckley

Louisville, Kentucky

Waneeta Beckley, age 14, sponsored by the Louisville Courier-Journal, won the $500 prize by correctly spelling the word “promiscuous.”

Waneeta married and became Waneeta Morgan. She graduated from Presentation Academy and was a member of the Ladies Auxiliary at Cedar Lake Lodge, where she earned an award for her fundraising efforts. She died in 2018.

Location

National Museum Auditorium

Winning Word

promiscuous(adj)

pruh-MIS-kyuh-wus

casual, careless, irregular.

This word is from Latin.

OFFICIALS

Directors

Donald McWain

Pronouncers

  • Harold F. Harding

SPELLER ROSTER

  • Kathlyn Armstrong
  • Waneeta Beckley
  • Doris Buzard
  • William Crockett Cooley
  • Charles Edwards Jr.
  • Robert Farrell
  • Betty Grunstra
  • Freda A. Hamilton
  • Iris Fern Jenkins
  • Elizabeth Kenney
  • Angelo Mangieri
  • Edward N. Noonan Jr.
  • Anthony Scheidler
  • Martha Leahy Snyder
  • Trygve Tholfsen
  • Frank L. White Jr.

* Winner
** Runner-Up