The 7th National Spelling Bee was held at the

National Museum A national museum can be a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In the United States, most nati ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, on May 27, 1931.(27 May 1931)
Boy, 12, Is Best Speller
''Brooklyn Standard Union'' (UP)

Scripps-Howard The E. W. Scripps Company, also known as Scripps, is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by E. W. Scripps, Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a ...

would not sponsor the Bee until 1941. The winner was 12-year-old Ward Randall of

White Hall, Illinois White Hall is a city in Greene County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,295 at the 2020 census. History A post office called White Hall has been in operation since 1827. In 1830 a David Barrow was the first person to build and in a ...

, correctly spelling the word ''foulard''. Charles Michel, 14, of

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took second (misspelling ''foulard'' as ''folard''), followed by Mary Scheidler, 14, of Millhousen, Indiana, in third.(27 May 1931)
Illinois Youth Wins National Spelling Bee
''Schenectady Gazette'' Blanche Krell, 13, of

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

placed fourth. Aaron Butler Jr. of

Weir, Kansas Weir is a city in Cherokee County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 569. History Weir was founded in 1872 and is named after landowner T. M. Weir, who donated forty acres as a townsite. The first p ...

, placed fifth. Butler had dropped out at 15th place but was reinstated after contending he had properly spelled "incroachment". When he was reinstated, only six spellers were left. Dorothy Greenwald placed 17th, but went on to win the following year.Maguire, James
American Bee: The National Spelling Bee and the Culture of Word Nerds
p. 71 (2006) There were 23 contestants this year. Samuel M. North, superintendent of Maryland high schools, served as pronouncer, along with Charles E. Hill of

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

. First prize was $1000, followed by $500 for second, and $250 for third. The NBC radio network broadcast the final hour of the bee.(24 May 1931)
Dignan leaves today for bee
''Louisville Courier-Journal'' Randall was the first Bee winner from Illinois, and alone in that honor until Balu Natarajan won in 1985.Fieldman, Chuck (25 May 2015)
Hinsdale man recalls winning national spelling bee 30 years ago
''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

References

{{Scripps National Spelling Bee 07 1931 in education 1931 in Washington, D.C. May 1931 in the United States