Date May 29, 1947 Age 14 Sponsor Atlanta Journal | Winner Mattie Lou Pollard | |
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Location Auditorium of the National Press Building, Washington, D.C. | ||
The 20th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in Washington, District of Columbia on May 29, 1947, sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company.
The winner was 14-year old girl Mattie Lou Pollard of Thomaston, Georgia, correctly spelling the word chlorophyll. Pollard had placed sixth in the prior's years bee. Fourteen year-old Sonya Rodolfo of Chicago (but a native of the Philippines) took second, and failed to spell "maggoty", followed by Suzanne Gelin of Parma, Ohio, who misspelled "sarsaparilla." Fourth place when to Sharon Gross of Akron, Ohio, who misspelled "bellicose" in the 31st round.
References
20th Scripps National Spelling Bee Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA