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.

43rd Scripps National Spelling Bee
The Mayflower Hotel, site of the 43rd National Spelling Bee
Date	June 3–4, 1970
Location	The Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Winner	Libby Childress
Age	14
Residence	Mount Airy, North Carolina
Sponsor	Winston-Salem Journal & Sentinel
Sponsor location	Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winning word	croissant
No. of contestants	74[1]
Pronouncer	Richard R. Baker
Preceded by	42nd Scripps National Spelling Bee
Followed by	44th Scripps National Spelling Bee

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".[2][3][4][5]

There were 74 spellers this year, 44 girls and 30 boys.[1] 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.[1]

As of 2015, Childress is the last entrant from North Carolina to win the national contest.[6]