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Phineas Barnum creates a picture-based beauty contest through the newspapers. Although this was successful, his efforts to launch a live beauty contest remain unsuccessful.
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Rehoboth Beach, Delaware was the location that hosted the first recorded bathing beauty contest. Contestants faced a strict set of rules. First, each contestant had to have been younger than 25 years old. Each contestant could not be married to run. Also, each contestant must be at least 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighing no more than 130 pounds in order to participate.
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Swimmer Annette Kellerman is arrested for indecent exposure after wearing a one-piece swimsuit with only tights, and no bloomers in public.
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On September 7, 1921, a group of PR people led by Conrad Eckholm created the Fall Frolic in Atlantic City, NJ in order to attract tourists to the shore after the summertime. The Inter-City Beauty Pageant, today known as the Miss America Pageant, began as a part of the Fall Frolic celebrations. In the beginning, there were only seven contestants. The winner being Margaret Gorman, a 16-year-old from Washington, D.C.
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The Miss America Pageant grows in popularity, attracting over 70 contestants, who at this time can represent cities, theaters, and resorts (not states). Mary Katherine Campbell becomes the only Miss America to win the competition twice, in two consecutive years.
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Norma Smallwood, Miss America 1926, makes appearances with an income greater than Babe Ruth and the President of the United States!
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Bad press from religious and women groups, and the financial crisis of the "Great Depression" shut down the pageant from 1929 to 1932.
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15-year-old Marian Bergeron is crowned Miss America 1932, which begins the enforcement of age requirements to run in the pageant. The contestants must be between the ages of 18 and 26. Also, contestants are now required to be only of the white race.
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Lenora Slaughter joins pageant officials in order to reinvent the pageant. Slaughter anticipates to join for six weeks, however, she will remain the pageant's director for 32 years.
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A talent competition is added to the annual pageant. In addition, contestants are no longer allowed to represent cities, resorts, and theaters. They now must represent states.
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The pageant moves from the beach to the boardwalk!
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Lenora Slaughter raises $5000 in efforts to create the Miss America scholarship program. Before, Miss Americas are offered furs and movie contracts. With this program, she will be offered college funds. Also on this date, Bess Myerson, the first Jewish Miss America, is the first winner of the scholarship program.
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Officials from ABC network speak with officials from the pageant about airing the pageant on television. Pageant officials decline the offer, fearful of losing the Atlantic City audience.
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Twenty-seven million people watch Lee Meriwether become crowned Miss America from their television sets. In the same year, Bert Parks is hired as the pageant's emcee. The Miss America pageant is not televised in color until 1966.
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Feminists protest on the Atlantic City boardwalk, where they crown a sheep and yell from balconies for the contestants to "show us your shoes!" During this year, and in previous years, the contestants wore slippers, or no shoes at all, during the parade. This made many audience members outraged.
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The first black contestant is crowned as Miss Iowa, and travels to Atlantic City for the competition.
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Vanessa Williams is crowned the first black Miss America.
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Each contestant is now required to choose a platform prior to running for Miss America.
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Heather Whitestone becomes Miss America 1995, being the first Miss America with a physical handicap of being deaf.
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The first Asian American Miss America is crowned! Angela Perez Baraquio is crowned.
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Nina Davuluri is crowned Miss America 2014, being the first Indian Miss America, representing her platform Cultural Diversity.
