The 5th National Spelling Bee was held at the National Museum in Washington, D.C., on May 21, 1929, by the Louisville Courier-Journal. Scripps-Howard would not sponsor the Bee until 1941.
| 5th National Spelling Bee | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Date | May 21, 1929 |
| Location | National Museum in Washington, D.C. |
| Winner | Virginia Hogan |
| Age | 12 |
| Residence | Nebraska |
| Sponsor | Omaha World-Herald |
| Sponsor location | Omaha, Nebraska |
| Winning word | asceticism |
| No. of contestants | 21[1] |
| Pronouncer | Francis A. Litz and Charles E. Hill[2] |
| Preceded by | 4th Scripps National Spelling Bee |
| Followed by | 6th Scripps National Spelling Bee |
The winner was 12-year-old Virginia Hogan of Nebraska, a student at St. John's Parochial School in Omaha,[3] correctly spelling the word luxuriance, followed by asceticism. In second place came Viola Strbac of Milwaukee, Wisconsin (who had failed to properly spell luxuriance),[4] followed by Teru Hayashi of Ventnor City, New Jersey, a Japanese-American who stumbled on "panacea".[1][5][6][7][8][9]
Hogan was first bee winner from her state. She died in Fremont, Nebraska, in 1976.[10] Nebraska did not have another winner until the 40th Bee in 1967.[11]
References edit
- ^ a b (22 May 1929). Omaha Girl Spells "Luxuriance" In Huge Tongue-Twister Contest, And Wins National Championship, Evening Independent
- ^ 15 June 1929). Catholic School Girl Wins National Spelling Contest, The Bulletin (Catholic Laymens Association of Georgia)
- ^ (4 May 1929). State Grade School Spelling Champ, Lincoln Journal Star (article on Hogan winning Nebraska state bee on Friday, May 3, 1929, noting her school)
- ^ (26 May 1929). Speller sobs over failure, Milwaukee Journal
- ^ (24 May 1929). An Honor for Wisconsin Children, Milwaukee Journal
- ^ (24 May 1929). Bag of Gold Hers, Troy Times (Troy, New York) (photograph of Hogan)
- ^ (3 June 1929). Education: Bee, Time (magazine) "Unfalteringly she spelled "luxuriance" correctly, after Viola Strbac of South Milwaukee had failed by suggesting "l-u-x-u-r-i-e-n-c-e". Little Teru Hayashi of Ventnor, N. J., spelled rapidly, unerringly, until confronted with 'panacea'."
- ^ (8 May 1929). Best Spellers At School 6 in Training For Albany Championship May 17, Albany Evening News
- ^ (22 May 1929). Girl from Capital District Outspells Five Champions Before Meeting Defeat, Albany Evening News
- ^ (24 November 1976). Spelling champ dies, Lincoln Star (married name Virginia Hogan McDonald)
- ^ Dejka, Joe (22 May 2016). Omaha eighth-grader, already Midwest champion, is headed to Scripps National Spelling Bee, Omaha World-Herald