Photos show what the very first Miss America pageant was like in 1921

Publish date: 2024-07-13
Updated 2021-12-17T16:14:34Z

The first Miss America pageant took place on September 8, 1921.

Contestants in the first Miss America pageant line up for the judges in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in September 1921. AP Images

The pageant was canceled last year, due to the coronavirus pandemic. It meant that the 2020 Miss America, Camille Schrier, the former Miss Virginia, effectively held the crown for two years.

The competition resumed this year, and Miss Alaska, Emma Broyles, was just crowned Miss America 2022, the first ever winner from the state.

It was held on the Atlantic City Boardwalk and started as a way to keep tourists around after Labor Day.

Neptune & Miss America at the Atlantic City Festival circa 1922. Buyenlarge/Getty Images

While this year's Miss America was held in December, the competition has traditionally been held the weekend after Labor Day, commonly signaling the end of summer and beginning of fall.

In 1920, the city put on a Fall Frolic event, to modest success. They decided to go even bigger the next year and make it a two-day event.

Thousands of people came to see the spectacle.

Miss America beauty contestants on Atlantic City's seafront in 1921 for the Miss America Beauty Pageant. AP Images

By 1923, over 300,000 people were flocking to the boardwalk to see the pageant.

It actually started out as two pageants: the Inter-City Beauty Contest and a Bather's Revue.

Miss America contestants posing for a photograph. Bettmann/Getty Images

The Inter-City Beauty Contest was meant for amateurs, while professional models and actresses entered the Bather's Revue.

The Inter-City Beauty Contest received over 1,000 entries from around the US in the form of photographs.

1922's Miss America, Mary Katherine Campbell. Bettmann/Getty Images

The first prize was being crowned "Golden Mermaid" and receiving a trophy. Prizes given to runners-up were swimsuits and trophies designed by Annette Kellerman, a swimmer trying to popularize the one-piece swimsuit in lieu of bloomers. She was famously arrested in 1907 for indecency — she wore a bathing suit that bared her arms and legs — and her involvement in the pageant was quite scandalous at the time.

Of those entries, six were chosen to represent their city, known as "key cities." These women officially competed in the Inter-City Beauty Contest on the boardwalk.

Mary Dague as Miss Wheeling, Dorothy Haupt as Miss Easton, Helen Lynch as Miss Fall River, Ellen E. Sherr as Miss Allentown, Paula E. Spoettle as Miss Bridgeport, and Miss Margaret Gorman as Miss America. Bettmann/Getty Images

Notably, the contestants were all unmarried. Miss America contestants still aren't allowed to be married, though a 1999 rule change allowed divorceés to enter.

The winner was based partly on applause and partly on the judges' decisions.

View of five of the contestants in the Miss America contest as they walk along the beach, Atlantic City, New Jersey, July 1924. Underwood Archives/Getty Images

Now, contestants are judged on a more complex set of factors, like "leadership, talent, communication skills, and smarts."

The first winner was Miss Washington, DC, Margaret Gorman.

Margaret Gorman. Bettmann/Getty Images

Gorman was just 16 at the time. Now, contestants must be at least 17. The latest winner, Emma Broyles, is 20.

Gorman then entered the Bather's Revue, which was composed of the Inter-City contestants and professional models.

Neptune and Miss America in the parade. Bettmann/Getty Images

Gorman also won a trophy in the Boardwalk Parade for her appearance, showing how popular she was with the spectators.

Gorman won that too, and she took home the Golden Mermaid trophy.

Mayor Edward L. Bader hands the key to the city to the first crowned Miss America, Margaret Gorman, in Atlantic City. Bettmann/Getty Images

"I never cared to be Miss America. It wasn't my idea. I am so bored by it all. I really want to forget the whole thing," Gorman said later of her win.

Gorman entered the contest again the following year, but since the title of Washington, DC, had already gone to a new representative, they had to come up with something new: She was allowed to compete as Miss America, and the title was born.

Margaret Gorman from Washington D.C. smiles, wearing a large Statue of Liberty crown and a striped cape, as the first Miss America, Atlantic City, New Jersey. Hulton Archive/Getty Images

She competed again in 1922 and 1923, but was ultimately succeeded by Mary Katherine Campbell, who held the crown for two years.

Miss America has changed dramatically since that first competition 100 years ago.

Miss Alaska, Emma Broyles, was crowned Miss America 2022 in December 2021. Miss America Organization

In the 100 years since, it has become a huge organization that provides scholarships to women, and encourages female empowerment, although it has not been without its controversies.

The pageant has gone through many modifications, including network changes, location changes, and even the removal of the swimsuit portion.

For the first time in its 100-year history, a winner from Alaska was crowned on December 16: Emma Broyles, 20, was named Miss America 2022. Miss Alabama Lauren Bradford was the first runner up, and Miss Massachusetts Elizabeth Pierre was third. 

Fifty women competed for the title, with Miss Maine having to withdraw from the competition after she contracted COVID-19.

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