43rd Scripps National Spelling Bee

The 43rd Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in Washington, D.C. at the Mayflower Hotel on June 3-4, 1970, sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company.

The winner was 14-year-old Libby Childress of Mount Airy, North Carolina, with the winning word "croissant." The competition ended with an 18-word duel with 14-year-old Tom Moe Jr. of Denver, who eventually misspelled "corymb" as "chorimbe".

There were 74 spellers this year, 44 girls and 30 boys. The first place prize was $1000 (and a trip to New York City), $500 for second, $250 for third, $100 for next five, $75 for next ten, and $50 each for the remaining spellers.

As of 2015, Childress is the last entrant from North Carolina to win the national contest.