23rd Scripps National Spelling Bee
| 23rdh Scripps National Spelling Bee | |
|---|---|
| Date | May 26, 1950 |
| Location | Washington, D.C. |
| Winner | Diana Reynard and Colquitt Dean (tie) |
| Age |
12 (Reynard) 14 (Dean) |
| Residence |
East Cleveland, Ohio (Reynard) College Park, Georgia (Dean) |
| Sponsor |
Cleveland Press (Reynard) Atlanta Journal (Dean) |
| Sponsor location |
Cleveland, Ohio (Reynard) Atlanta, Georgia (Dean) |
| Winning word | meticulosity |
| No. of contestants | 50[1] |
| Preceded by | 22nd Scripps National Spelling Bee |
| Followed by | 24th Scripps National Spelling Bee |
The 23rd Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in Washington, District of Columbia on May 26, 1950, sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company.
The co-winners were 12-year old Diana Reynard of East Cleveland, Ohio and 14-year old Colquitt Dean of College Park, Georgia. This was the first time in National Spelling Bee history that the word list was exhausted and co-champions had to be declared. The final word was meticulosity. Each received the first place prize of $500 and a trip to New York. Third place went to Jim Bernhard of Houston, Texas, who missed "haruspex," and received $300.[2][3]
The field of spellers was reduced to Reynard and Dean after 29 rounds, and they both correctly spelled a number of following words. Dean was almost excluded on "ferule" until the judges determined it was a proper spelling. The two continued until the Bee's third and final supplementary word list had been used up.[4] Dean politely refused requests to embrace Reynard for photographers, fearing the reaction it might cause back home to be seen hugging a girl.[5]
There were 50 spellers this year - 31 girls and 19 boys. Audrey Mathews was the first one eliminated for the spelling "supercede," but was reinstated after the judges found that it was listed in Webster's dictionary as a variant spelling for the normal "supersede".[1]
References
- 1 2 (26 May 1950). Webster Saves Girl Speller, Evening Independent (Associated Press)
- ↑ (27 May 1950). Run Out of Words: Award 2 Prize, Daytona Morning Beach Journal (Associated Press)
- ↑ Bernhard, Jim (1 June 2015), To Bee or Not to Bee, Words Going Wild (Blogpost by Bernhard posted in 2015)
- ↑ Maguire, James. American Bee: The National Spelling Bee and the Culture of Word Nerds, p. 74-75(2006)
- ↑ (30 May 1950). Spelling Judges Ran Out of Words, Sydney Morning Herald