The 4th National Spelling Bee was held at the

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, on May 23, 1928, hosted by the ''

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''.

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would not sponsor the Bee until 1941. The winner was 13-year-old eighth-grader Betty Robinson of

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(who took 2nd place in the 1926 bee), correctly spelling the word ''knack'', followed by ''albumen''.Francisco, Brian (25 May 2015)
Spelling champ credits reading
''

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'' Pauline Gray, 13, of

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placed second (she spelled knack as "nack"), followed by Bessie Doig, 11, of

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in third, who faltered on "bacillus".(23 May 1928)
'Knack' Wins the National Spelling Championship for 13-Year-Old Girl
''Evening Independent'' (Associated Press copy)(23 May 1928)
Girl, 13, of South Bend, Is Crowned Spelling Champion
''Binghamton Press'' (Associated Press) Just before winning, Robinson had misspelled "campanile" as "campanele", but Gray also misspelled it, exactly the same way. The first student eliminated of the 23 contestants this year misspelled "magic" as "majic". Other words which spellers stumbled on included "occurred", "middy", "saxophone", "gist", "valet", "illusion", "aberration", "charivari", "counsellor", "clarivoyance", "clientele". Winner Robinson told the judges that "counsellor" could be spelled three ways, and correctly did so. There were 23 contestants this year, made up of 17 girls and 6 boys. The first place award was $1000, with second at $500 at third at $200. Every entrant won at least $25 in gold.

References

External links

Photograph of President Calvin Coolidge with spellers
Library of Congress {{Scripps National Spelling Bee 04 1928 in Washington, D.C. 1928 in education May 1928 in the United States