History of Miss DC
After returning from a newspaper circulation managers’ meeting in Philadelphia, representatives of The Washington Herald decided to join with other East Coast newspapers in holding a “Popularity Contest” in 1921. The winner was to receive a trip to Atlantic City to compete in the “Inter-City Beauty Contest,” an addition to 1920’s “Fall Frolic,” which was an attempt to keep visitors in Atlantic City beyond Labor Day.
Following the elimination of approximately 1,000 entrants (who sent in their photos), and two weeks of being judged along with the forty finalists at citywide functions in day and formal attire, Margaret Gorman, a sixteen-year-old junior at Western High School (now the Duke Ellington School of the Arts) was selected as “Miss Washington, D.C.” When Washington Herald representatives arrived at her Georgetown home to let her know that she had won the contest, they found her playing marbles nearby with her brothers.
Upon her arrival at Atlantic City, Margaret was entered into the “National Beauty Tournament” (in afternoon attire) with the other “Inter-City Beauties.” She won. The next day, the Inter-City beauties were again entered into the festival’s new “Bathers’ Revue.” Again, she won. With several hundred women entered in three categories (Inter-City, Amateur, and Professional), Margaret Gorman was again chosen the over-all winner.
By the following September, because another woman, Evelyn C. Lewis, had already been named “Miss Washington, D.C.,” Margaret, who was expected to come back to Atlantic City to defend her title, was given the title of “Miss America.” She was also the only winner to be crowned at the end of her reign.
Subsequent “Miss America” competitions were variously held on the Atlantic City beach and boardwalk, on Steel Pier, in Convention Hall (later “Boardwalk Hall), and, during World War II (when Convention Hall was used for military training), at the Warner Theatre on the boardwalk, where only its façade remains today.
The Miss Washington, D.C. (later “Miss District of Columbia”) competition was held under the sponsorship of The Washington Herald through 1927, and Washingtonians fared very well in the national competition. Marjorie Joesting nearly became the District of Columbia’s second Miss America. She finished second to Miss America 1926.
Due to charges of a “lack of decorum” placed upon the Atlantic City Pageant from women’s groups and religious leaders, the Miss America Pageant was dormant from 1928 until 1933. That returning year was a financial disaster and the event again went inactive in 1934. The Miss America Pageant was resurrected in 1935 and has remained to this day.
Venus Ramey, a beautiful redhead who sang and danced the rumba, became the second Miss America from the District of Columbia in 1944. Margo Lucey, Miss District of Columbia 1956, and Roseanne Tueller, Miss District of Columbia 1963, both finished as first runner-up to Miss America.
With a break in the early 1950′s, when the District of Columbia’s pageant was organized by Capital Broadcasting Company, the Miss District of Columbia pageant was sponsored by Radio Station WWDC from 1942 through 1963.
For many years, the Miss Washington, D.C. pageant was held at the Loew’s Capitol Theater, often cited as the most beautiful and grand of all of Washington’s movie palaces. It was closed in 1963, and demolished in 1964. All that remains today is its famous archway on the building’s façade, which forms the entrance to the National Press Building.
For some years prior to Station WWDC’s sponsorship, the Miss Washington contest also took place on a cruise liner on the Potomac River.
Since the District of Columbia’s record at Miss America far out-weighed those of neighboring Maryland and Virginia, and since many of the city’s winners did come from the surrounding areas of the city, there was pressure put on WWDC to only allow city residents to compete for the District of Columbia title. With much of its listening audience outside the District, WWDC dropped the franchise in 1964. At about this same time, the Miss America Organization decided to have only states, and not cities, send representatives to Miss America. For these reasons, the pageant was discontinued until 1984 when the District of Columbia was again granted a franchise and Desiree Keating became the first African American to win the title. Financial debt caused the pageant to close its doors once again after the 1989 winner was selected. During these hiatuses, young women who were District residents were permitted to compete in the adjacent states of Maryland and Virginia. In the 1990’s, Miss Maryland local competitions, such as Miss Capital City and Miss Federal City, were open to both Maryland and D.C. residents, with competitions held in the District.
In 1997, the Miss America Organization agreed to have the District of Columbia franchise back in operation. So now, every area of the continental United States (in addition to Alaska and Hawaii) would have a representative at the Miss America competition. That year, Sonya Gavankar, Miss DC 1997, became the first Indian-American to compete on the Miss America stage.
In the last two decades, Nicole Messina, Miss District of Columbia 1998, won a Miss America Preliminary Talent Award and was named to the top ten semi-finalists; Marshawn Evans, Miss District of Columbia 2001, won the Miss America Preliminary Talent and Interview Awards and was 3rd runner-up to Miss America; Shannon Schambeau, Miss District of Columbia 2005, won the Miss America Preliminary Swimsuit Award and was selected 4th runner-up to Miss America; Kate Marie Grinold, Miss District of Columbia 2008, and Jennifer Corey, Miss District of Columbia 2009, each were chosen as semi-finalists in their respective Miss America competitions; Cierra Jackson, Miss District of Columbia 2016, took home the Preliminary Swimsuit Award at Miss America; and Briana Kinsey, Miss District of Columbia 2017 was a Quality of Life Scholarship Finalist, a STEM Scholarship winner, and placed 3rd Runner-Up to Miss America. Miss District of Columbia 2018, Allison Farris, was a semi-finalist and a finalist for the Quality of Life Award at the Miss America competition.
In 2006, the Miss America Pageant moved to Las Vegas, where it remained for eight consecutive years, being held in January, instead of the usual September. The competition took place at the Aladdin Hotel and Casino, later replaced by Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. In September 2013, the Miss America competition returned to the place of its birth, Atlantic City, New Jersey, for its 93rd anniversary pageant at historic Boardwalk Hall. It remained there through 2018, when it moved to Mohegan Sun resort in Uncasville, Connecticut, where it will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2021.
Each woman who has held the Miss Washington, D.C. or Miss District of Columbia title has brought her own special charm, intelligence, talent and beauty to the crown she has worn. While our country and world have changed since that first Miss Washington, D.C. contest in 1921, the tradition of Miss District of Columbia lives on!
Following the elimination of approximately 1,000 entrants (who sent in their photos), and two weeks of being judged along with the forty finalists at citywide functions in day and formal attire, Margaret Gorman, a sixteen-year-old junior at Western High School (now the Duke Ellington School of the Arts) was selected as “Miss Washington, D.C.” When Washington Herald representatives arrived at her Georgetown home to let her know that she had won the contest, they found her playing marbles nearby with her brothers.
Upon her arrival at Atlantic City, Margaret was entered into the “National Beauty Tournament” (in afternoon attire) with the other “Inter-City Beauties.” She won. The next day, the Inter-City beauties were again entered into the festival’s new “Bathers’ Revue.” Again, she won. With several hundred women entered in three categories (Inter-City, Amateur, and Professional), Margaret Gorman was again chosen the over-all winner.
By the following September, because another woman, Evelyn C. Lewis, had already been named “Miss Washington, D.C.,” Margaret, who was expected to come back to Atlantic City to defend her title, was given the title of “Miss America.” She was also the only winner to be crowned at the end of her reign.
Subsequent “Miss America” competitions were variously held on the Atlantic City beach and boardwalk, on Steel Pier, in Convention Hall (later “Boardwalk Hall), and, during World War II (when Convention Hall was used for military training), at the Warner Theatre on the boardwalk, where only its façade remains today.
The Miss Washington, D.C. (later “Miss District of Columbia”) competition was held under the sponsorship of The Washington Herald through 1927, and Washingtonians fared very well in the national competition. Marjorie Joesting nearly became the District of Columbia’s second Miss America. She finished second to Miss America 1926.
Due to charges of a “lack of decorum” placed upon the Atlantic City Pageant from women’s groups and religious leaders, the Miss America Pageant was dormant from 1928 until 1933. That returning year was a financial disaster and the event again went inactive in 1934. The Miss America Pageant was resurrected in 1935 and has remained to this day.
Venus Ramey, a beautiful redhead who sang and danced the rumba, became the second Miss America from the District of Columbia in 1944. Margo Lucey, Miss District of Columbia 1956, and Roseanne Tueller, Miss District of Columbia 1963, both finished as first runner-up to Miss America.
With a break in the early 1950′s, when the District of Columbia’s pageant was organized by Capital Broadcasting Company, the Miss District of Columbia pageant was sponsored by Radio Station WWDC from 1942 through 1963.
For many years, the Miss Washington, D.C. pageant was held at the Loew’s Capitol Theater, often cited as the most beautiful and grand of all of Washington’s movie palaces. It was closed in 1963, and demolished in 1964. All that remains today is its famous archway on the building’s façade, which forms the entrance to the National Press Building.
For some years prior to Station WWDC’s sponsorship, the Miss Washington contest also took place on a cruise liner on the Potomac River.
Since the District of Columbia’s record at Miss America far out-weighed those of neighboring Maryland and Virginia, and since many of the city’s winners did come from the surrounding areas of the city, there was pressure put on WWDC to only allow city residents to compete for the District of Columbia title. With much of its listening audience outside the District, WWDC dropped the franchise in 1964. At about this same time, the Miss America Organization decided to have only states, and not cities, send representatives to Miss America. For these reasons, the pageant was discontinued until 1984 when the District of Columbia was again granted a franchise and Desiree Keating became the first African American to win the title. Financial debt caused the pageant to close its doors once again after the 1989 winner was selected. During these hiatuses, young women who were District residents were permitted to compete in the adjacent states of Maryland and Virginia. In the 1990’s, Miss Maryland local competitions, such as Miss Capital City and Miss Federal City, were open to both Maryland and D.C. residents, with competitions held in the District.
In 1997, the Miss America Organization agreed to have the District of Columbia franchise back in operation. So now, every area of the continental United States (in addition to Alaska and Hawaii) would have a representative at the Miss America competition. That year, Sonya Gavankar, Miss DC 1997, became the first Indian-American to compete on the Miss America stage.
In the last two decades, Nicole Messina, Miss District of Columbia 1998, won a Miss America Preliminary Talent Award and was named to the top ten semi-finalists; Marshawn Evans, Miss District of Columbia 2001, won the Miss America Preliminary Talent and Interview Awards and was 3rd runner-up to Miss America; Shannon Schambeau, Miss District of Columbia 2005, won the Miss America Preliminary Swimsuit Award and was selected 4th runner-up to Miss America; Kate Marie Grinold, Miss District of Columbia 2008, and Jennifer Corey, Miss District of Columbia 2009, each were chosen as semi-finalists in their respective Miss America competitions; Cierra Jackson, Miss District of Columbia 2016, took home the Preliminary Swimsuit Award at Miss America; and Briana Kinsey, Miss District of Columbia 2017 was a Quality of Life Scholarship Finalist, a STEM Scholarship winner, and placed 3rd Runner-Up to Miss America. Miss District of Columbia 2018, Allison Farris, was a semi-finalist and a finalist for the Quality of Life Award at the Miss America competition.
In 2006, the Miss America Pageant moved to Las Vegas, where it remained for eight consecutive years, being held in January, instead of the usual September. The competition took place at the Aladdin Hotel and Casino, later replaced by Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. In September 2013, the Miss America competition returned to the place of its birth, Atlantic City, New Jersey, for its 93rd anniversary pageant at historic Boardwalk Hall. It remained there through 2018, when it moved to Mohegan Sun resort in Uncasville, Connecticut, where it will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2021.
Each woman who has held the Miss Washington, D.C. or Miss District of Columbia title has brought her own special charm, intelligence, talent and beauty to the crown she has worn. While our country and world have changed since that first Miss Washington, D.C. contest in 1921, the tradition of Miss District of Columbia lives on!
Miss DC: Miss America 1921 & 1944
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Margaret Gorman, Miss DC 1921 and the very first Miss America, attended Western High School, which is now Duke Ellington School of the Arts. A few years after passing on her title in Atlantic City, she married Victor Cahill and was happily married until he died in 1957. She lived all her life in D.C., became somewhat of a socialite and enjoyed traveling. She died on October 1, 1995, at age 90.
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Venus Ramey left Kentucky to work for the war effort in Washington, D.C. and won the Miss District of Columbia pageant and then became Miss America in 1944. She was the first red-haired contestant to win the title. Ramey worked during her reign to help win suffrage for Washington, D.C. in 1945. In 1944, a B17 of the 15th Air Force was named the “Venus Ramey.” Later, Ms. Ramey became the first Miss America to run for public office, seeking a seat in the Kentucky House of Representatives. To date, she is only the second Miss DC to win the Miss America title.
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Year, Name and Placement at the Miss America Pageant
- 1921 Margaret Gorman (Miss America 1921)
- 1922 Evelyn C. Lewis
- 1923 Lorraine Bunch (Semi-finalist)
- 1924 Helen Gould Sweeney (Semi-finalist)
- 1925 Abbie Virginia Eagan
- 1926 Marjorie Joesting (First Runner -up)
- 1927 Gladys Cookman
- 1933 Rita Burns (Semi-finalist)
- 1935 Helen Loyce Clum (Semi-finalist)
- 1936 Shirley Schwartz
- 1937 Helen Elizabeth Greene
- 1938 Dorothy Mae Parker (Semi-finalist)
- 1939 Evelyn Maye Foster
- 1940 Catherine Virginia Howe* (Semi-finalist)
- 1941 Jean Fidelis Cavanaugh (Second Runner-up)
- 1942 Marilyn Elaine Makin
- 1943 Dixie Lou Rafter^ (Fourth Runner-up)
- 1944 Venus Ramey*^ (Miss America 1944)
- 1945 Dorothy Louise Powell (Semi-finalist)
- 1946 Jeanne Marie Carlson
- 1947 Margaret Augusta Wilson
- 1948 Joann Virginia Miller
- 1949 Mary Jane Hayes
- 1950 Sandra Joanne Stahl* (Semi-finalist)
- 1951 June Beverly Klein
- 1952 Iris Anne Fitch*#
- 1953 Helen Fiske Smith
- 1954 Linda Maud Weisbrod* (Semi-finalist)
- 1955 Judith Ann Dunkle
- 1956 Margo Zita Sandra Lucey (First Runner -up)
- 1957 June Roberta Cook
- 1958 Lee Rose Berkow
- 1959 Virginia Noble Pailes*
- 1960 Ruth Rea^ (Third Runner-up)
- 1961 Scarlett Jean Shinault+
- 1962 Ann Harris Verner
- 1963 Rosanne Tueller*^ (First Runner-up)
- 1984 Desiree Keating
- 1985 Cherie A.Ward
- 1986 Karen Lynn Watson
- 1987 Cheryl Chapman
- 1988 Patricia Morrin
- 1989 Donya M. Rose
- 1997 Sonya Gavankar
- 1998 Nicole Messina*& (Semi-finalist)
- 1999 Toyia Tynae Taylor+
- 2000 Rashida Tulani Jolley&
- 2001 Marshawn Evans* (Third Runner-up)
- 2002 Sarah-Elizabeth Langford
- 2003 Lisa Ferris
- 2004 Therese Lizardo&
- 2005 Shannon Schambeau^ (Fourth Runner-up)
- 2006 Kate Michael
- 2007 Shayna Rudd+
- 2008 Kate Marie Grinold (Semi-finalist)
- 2009 Jennifer Corey (Semi-finalist)
- 2010 Stephanie Williams
- 2011 Ashley Boalch
- 2012 Allyn Rose
- 2013 Bindhu Pamarthi
- 2014 Teresa Davis
- 2015 Haely Jardas
- 2016 Cierra Jackson^
- 2017 Briana Kinsey&% (Third Runner-Up)
- 2018 Allison Farris& (Semi-finalist)
- 2019 Katelynne Cox
^ – Preliminary Swimsuit Winner
+ – Non-Finalist Talent Award
& – Quality of Life Award Finalist
# – Miss Congeniality Award
% - STEM Award Winner