# List of Scripps National Spelling Bee champions

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 competition began in 1925, and was initially organized by The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Kentucky, until the Scripps Howard Broadcasting Company (now the E. W. Scripps Company) assumed sponsorship in 1941. Every speller in the competition has previously participated in a local spelling bee, usually organized by a local newspaper.
The first champion was Frank Neuhauser of Louisville, who beat eight other finalists to win the inaugural competition. He was honored with a parade in his hometown, where and when he was presented with bouquets of gladioli in commemoration of the winning word "gladiolus", and returned to the Bee a number of times as a guest of honor. The first girl to win was Pauline Bell, also of Louisville, the following year. Girls won nine consecutive competitions from 1932 to 1940. Joint winners have been crowned on seven occasions in the Bee's history. The first such occurrence was in 1950, when Dean Colquitt and Diana Reynard were declared co-champions after the contestants had exhausted the list of available words. In both 1957 and 1962 joint champions were declared when both remaining contestants spelled the same word incorrectly. After three consecutive ties between 2014 and 2016, a written tiebreaker round was introduced, but it was discontinued for the 2019 Bee, which subsequently resulted in an unprecedented eight-way tie when the organizers ended the final session after the remaining contestants had completed five consecutive perfect rounds.
Although the competition is titled "National", it is not restricted to spellers from the United States. In 1998, Jody-Anne Maxwell from Jamaica became the first speller from outside the US to win the Bee, as well as the first black winner. In recent decades the competition has been dominated by Indian-American students. Although people of South Asian origin make up less than one percent of the U.S. population, the vast majority of the winners since 1999, including all fourteen champions between 2008–2018 and seven of the eight co-champions in 2019, have come from the South Asian community.
One such speller, Nihar Janga from Austin, Texas, became the youngest champion in the Bee's history when he won the title in 2016 at the age of 11. The 93rd Scripps National Spelling Bee was the first time that an African-American (Zaila Avant-garde) became the champion and only the second time that the champion was a black person.
The competition was not held from 1943 to 1945 because of World War II. The 2020 competition was canceled due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Champions

| † | Joint champions |
| Edition | Year | Competition-ending word | Winner | Sponsor | Sponsor's location |
| 1st | 1925 | gladiolus | Frank Neuhauser | The Courier-Journal | Louisville, Kentucky |
| 2nd | 1926 | cerise | Pauline Bell | The Courier-Journal | Louisville, Kentucky |
| 3rd | 1927 | abrogate | Dean Lucas | Akron Beacon Journal | Akron, Ohio |
| 4th | 1928 | knack | Betty Robinson | South Bend News-Times | South Bend, Indiana |
| 5th | 1929 | luxuriance | Virginia Hogan | Omaha World-Herald | Omaha, Nebraska |
| 6th | 1930 | albumen | Helen Jensen | The Des Moines Register and Tribune | Des Moines, Iowa |
| 7th | 1931 | foulard | Ward Randall | White Hall Register-Republican | White Hall, Illinois |
| 8th | 1932 | invulnerable | Dorothy Greenwald | The Des Moines Register and Tribune | Des Moines, Iowa |
| 9th | 1933 | torsion | Alma Roach | Akron Beacon Journal | Akron, Ohio |
| 10th | 1934 | brethren | Sarah Wilson | Portland Evening Express | Portland, Maine |
| 11th | 1935 | intelligible | Clara Mohler | Akron Beacon Journal | Akron, Ohio |
| 12th | 1936 | eczema | Jean Trowbridge | The Des Moines Register and Tribune | Des Moines, Iowa |
| 13th | 1937 | promiscuous | Waneeta Rose Beckley | The Courier-Journal | Louisville, Kentucky |
| 14th | 1938 | sanitarium | Marian Richardson | The Louisville Times | Louisville, Kentucky |
| 15th | 1939 | canonical | Elizabeth Ann Rice | Telegram & Gazette | Worcester, Massachusetts |
| 16th | 1940 | therapy | Laurel Kuykendall | The Knoxville News-Sentinel | Knoxville, Tennessee |
| 17th | 1941 | initials | Louis Edward Sissman | The Detroit News | Detroit, Michigan |
| 18th | 1942 | sacrilegious | Richard Earnhart | El Paso Herald-Post | El Paso, Texas |
| 19th | 1946 | semaphore | John McKinney | The Des Moines Register and Tribune | Des Moines, Iowa |
| 20th | 1947 | chlorophyll | Mattie Lou Pollard | Atlanta Journal | Atlanta, Georgia |
| 21st | 1948 | psychiatry | Jean Chappelear | Akron Beacon Journal | Akron, Ohio |
| 22nd | 1949 | onerous | Kim Calvin | Canton Repository | Canton, Ohio |
| 23rd | 1950 | meticulosity | Diana Reynard† | Cleveland Press | Cleveland, Ohio |
| 23rd | 1950 | meticulosity | Colquitt Dean† | Atlanta Journal | Atlanta, Georgia |
| 24th | 1951 | insouciant | Irving Belz | Memphis Press Scimitar | Memphis, Tennessee |
| 25th | 1952 | vignette | Doris Ann Hall | Winston-Salem Journal | Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| 26th | 1953 | soubrette | Elizabeth Hess | Arizona Republic | Phoenix, Arizona |
| 27th | 1954 | transept | William Cashore | Norristown Times Herald | Norristown, Pennsylvania |
| 28th | 1955 | crustaceology | Sandra Sloss | St. Louis Globe-Democrat | St. Louis, Missouri |
| 29th | 1956 | condominium | Melody Sachko | Pittsburgh Press | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| 30th | 1957 | schappe | Dana Bennett† | Rocky Mountain News | Denver, Colorado |
| 30th | 1957 | schappe | Sandra Owen† | Canton Repository | Canton, Ohio |
| 31st | 1958 | syllepsis | Jolitta Schlehuber | Topeka Daily Capital | Topeka, Kansas |
| 32nd | 1959 | catamaran | Joel Montgomery | Rocky Mountain News | Denver, Colorado |
| 33rd | 1960 | eudaemonic | Henry Feldman | The Knoxville News-Sentinel | Knoxville, Tennessee |
| 34th | 1961 | smaragdine | John Capehart | Tulsa Tribune | Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| 35th | 1962 | esquamulose | Nettie Crawford† | El Paso Herald-Post | El Paso, Texas |
| 35th | 1962 | esquamulose | Michael Day† | St. Louis Globe-Democrat | St. Louis, Missouri |
| 36th | 1963 | equipage | Glen Van Slyke III | The Knoxville News-Sentinel | Knoxville, Tennessee |
| 37th | 1964 | sycophant | William Kerek | Akron Beacon Journal | Akron, Ohio |
| 38th | 1965 | eczema | Michael Kerpan Jr. | Tulsa Tribune | Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| 39th | 1966 | ratoon | Robert A. Wake | Houston Chronicle | Houston, Texas |
| 40th | 1967 | chihuahua | Jennifer Reinke | The Omaha World-Herald | Omaha, Nebraska |
| 41st | 1968 | abalone | Robert L. Walters | The Topeka Daily Capital | Topeka, Kansas |
| 42nd | 1969 | interlocutory | Susan Yoachum | Dallas Morning News | Dallas, Texas |
| 43rd | 1970 | croissant | Libby Childress | Winston-Salem Journal & Sentinel | Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| 44th | 1971 | shalloon | Jonathan Knisely | Philadelphia Bulletin | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| 45th | 1972 | macerate | Robin Kral | Lubbock Avalanche-Journal | Lubbock, Texas |
| 46th | 1973 | vouchsafe | Barrie Trinkle | Fort Worth Press | Fort Worth, Texas |
| 47th | 1974 | hydrophyte | Julie Ann Junkin | Birmingham Post-Herald | Birmingham, Alabama |
| 48th | 1975 | incisor | Hugh Tosteson García | San Juan Star | San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| 49th | 1976 | narcolepsy | Tim Kneale | Syracuse Herald-Journal | Syracuse, New York |
| 50th | 1977 | cambist | John Paola | The Pittsburgh Press | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| 51st | 1978 | deification | Peg McCarthy | The Topeka Capital-Journal | Topeka, Kansas |
| 52nd | 1979 | maculature | Katie Kerwin | Rocky Mountain News | Denver, Colorado |
| 53rd | 1980 | elucubrate | Jacques Bailly | Rocky Mountain News | Denver, Colorado |
| 54th | 1981 | sarcophagus | Paige Pipkin | El Paso Herald-Post | El Paso, Texas |
| 55th | 1982 | psoriasis | Molly Dieveney | Rocky Mountain News | Denver, Colorado |
| 56th | 1984 | Purim | Blake Giddens | El Paso Herald-Post | El Paso, Texas |
| 57th | 1984 | luge | Daniel Greenblatt | Loudoun Times-Mirror | Leesburg, Virginia |
| 58th | 1985 | milieu | Balu Natarajan | Chicago Tribune | Chicago, Illinois |
| 59th | 1986 | odontalgia | Jon Pennington | The Patriot News | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania |
| 60th | 1987 | staphylococci | Stephanie Petit | The Pittsburgh Press | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| 61st | 1988 | elegiacal | Rageshree Ramachandran | The Sacramento Bee | Sacramento, California |
| 62nd | 1989 | spoliator | Scott Isaacs | Rocky Mountain News | Denver, Colorado |
| 63rd | 1990 | fibranne | Amy Marie Dimak | The Seattle Times | Seattle, Washington |
| 64th | 1991 | antipyretic | Joanne Lagatta | Wisconsin State Journal | Clintonville, Wisconsin |
| 65th | 1992 | lyceum | Amanda Goad | The Richmond News Leader | Richmond, Virginia |
| 66th | 1993 | kamikaze | Geoff Hooper | The Commercial Appeal | Memphis, Tennessee |
| 67th | 1994 | antediluvian | Ned G. Andrews | The Knoxville News-Sentinel | Knoxville, Tennessee |
| 68th | 1995 | xanthosis | Justin Tyler Carroll | The Commercial Appeal | Memphis, Tennessee |
| 69th | 1996 | vivisepulture | Wendy Guey | The Palm Beach Post | West Palm Beach, Florida |
| 70th | 1997 | euonym | Rebecca Sealfon | New York Daily News | New York City |
| 71st | 1998 | chiaroscurist | Jody-Anne Maxwell | Phillips & Phillips Stationery Suppliers | Kingston, Jamaica |
| 72nd | 1999 | logorrhea | Nupur Lala | The Tampa Tribune | Tampa, Florida |
| 73rd | 2000 | demarche | George Thampy | St. Louis Post-Dispatch | St. Louis, Missouri |
| 74th | 2001 | succedaneum | Sean Conley | Aitkin Independent Age | Aitkin, Minnesota |
| 75th | 2002 | prospicience | Pratyush Buddiga | Rocky Mountain News | Denver, Colorado |
| 76th | 2003 | pococurante | Sai Gunturi | Dallas Morning News | Dallas, Texas |
| 77th | 2004 | autochthonous | David Tidmarsh | South Bend Tribune | South Bend, Indiana |
| 78th | 2005 | appoggiatura | Anurag Kashyap | San Diego Union-Tribune | San Diego, California |
| 79th | 2006 | Ursprache | Kerry Close | Asbury Park Press/Home News Tribune | Spring Lake, New Jersey |
| 80th | 2007 | serrefine | Evan O'Dorney | Contra Costa Times | Walnut Creek, California |
| 81st | 2008 | guerdon | Sameer Mishra | Journal & Courier | West Lafayette, Indiana |
| 82nd | 2009 | Laodicean | Kavya Shivashankar | The Olathe News | Olathe, Kansas |
| 83rd | 2010 | stromuhr | Anamika Veeramani | The Plain Dealer | Cleveland, Ohio |
| 84th | 2011 | cymotrichous | Sukanya Roy | Times Leader | Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania |
| 85th | 2012 | guetapens | Snigdha Nandipati | U-T San Diego | San Diego, California |
| 86th | 2013 | knaidel | Arvind Mahankali | New York Daily News | New York City |
| 87th | 2014 | stichomythia | Sriram J. Hathwar† | Corning Rotary Club | Corning, New York |
| 87th | 2014 | feuilleton | Ansun Sujoe† | Texas Christian University | Fort Worth, Texas |
| 88th | 2015 | scherenschnitte | Vanya Shivashankar† | The Olathe News | Olathe, Kansas |
| 88th | 2015 | nunatak | Gokul Venkatachalam† | St. Louis Post-Dispatch | St. Louis, Missouri |
| 89th | 2016 | Feldenkrais | Jairam Hathwar† | Corning Rotary Club | Corning, New York |
| 89th | 2016 | gesellschaft | Nihar Saireddy Janga† | Houston Public Media | Austin, Texas |
| 90th | 2017 | marocain | Ananya Vinay | The Fresno Bee | Fresno, California |
| 91st | 2018 | koinonia | Karthik Nemmani | Scoggins Middle School | McKinney, Texas |
| 92nd | 2019 | auslaut | Rishik Gandhasri† | Bay Area Regional Spelling Bee | San Jose, California |
| 92nd | 2019 | erysipelas | Erin Howard† | Adventure Travel | Huntsville, Alabama |
| 92nd | 2019 | bougainvillea | Saketh Sundar† | Howard County Library | Clarksville, Maryland |
| 92nd | 2019 | aiguillette | Shruthika Padhy† | Rosa International Middle School | Cherry Hill, New Jersey |
| 92nd | 2019 | pendeloque | Sohum Sukhatankar† | Dallas Sports Commission | Dallas, Texas |
| 92nd | 2019 | palama | Abhijay Kodali† | Dallas Sports Commission | Flower Mound, Texas |
| 92nd | 2019 | cernuous | Christopher Serrao† | Discover Lehigh Valley | Whitehouse Station, New Jersey |
| 92nd | 2019 | odylic | Rohan Raja† | Dallas Sports Commission | Irving, Texas |
| 93rd | 2021 | murraya | Zaila Avant-garde | New Orleans Chapter of the Links | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| 94th | 2022 | moorhen | Harini Logan | The Brauntex Performing Arts Theatre Association | San Antonio, Texas |
| 95th | 2023 | psammophile | Dev Shah | SNSB Region One Bee | Largo, Florida |
| 96th | 2024 | abseil | Bruhat Soma | Rays Baseball Foundation and Rowdies Soccer Fund | St. Petersburg, Florida |