Miss America 1921 To 1940.. See How Times Have Changed.
Margaret Gorman, Miss America 1921
A photo of the first Miss America winner, Margaret Gorman. This was the official photo of her as the winner.
Mary Katherine Campbell, Miss America 1922 and 1923
Mary Katherine Campbell of Columbus Ohio, the only woman to hold the Miss America title twice. She is pictured after winning her first title, in 1922.
Ruth Malcomson was Miss America in 1924, earning the title at age 18
Fay Lanphier Miss America 1925
Fay Elinora Lanphier was an American model and actress most noted for winning the title of Miss Santa Cruz in 1924 and then Miss California and Miss America in 1925.
Norma Smallwood Miss America 1926
Norma Des Cygne Smallwood was the winner of the Miss America 1926 pageant. Smallwood was the first Native American to win the title.
Lois Eleanor Delander was Miss America in 1927.
Delander, a native of Joliet, Illinois and high school junior, aged 16, won the Miss America crown on her parents’ twentieth wedding anniversary. The pageant was not held again until 1933.
Marian Bergeron, Miss America 1933
Marian Bergeron, Miss America 1933, was crowned winner at age 15 1/2. Even at this age, she was a well-established vocalist. There was so much confusion during and after the vote tabulations that nobody informed Marian she had won. She was unaware of her victory until the dressing assistants placed the banner on her. Marian’s singing career started when she was twelve. She sang blues on a New Haven radio station. Marian went on to be a public speaker and big supporter of the Miss America Pageant
Henrietta Leaver, Miss Pittsburgh, was crowned Miss America on September 7, 1935, at Atlantic City in New Jersey. She was 19 years old.
Her grandmother who had bigger dreams for her, Henrietta was encouraged to enter the “Miss Pittsburgh” contest. She won. This instant celebrity brought the attention of famed Pittsburgh sculptor, Frank Vittor who sculpted the heads of three United States Presidents to extend an invitation to Henrietta to pose for him. She accepted and was soon off to Atlantic City to compete for Miss America, with her grandmother serving as her chaperone
Rose Veronica Coyle was Miss America 1936.
Rose Veronica Coyle already had some professional theatrical experience when, at age 22, she entered and won Miss Philadelphia, which brought her to Atlantic City and her chance at the Miss America title.
Elizabeth “Bette” Cooper-Moore won the Miss America 1937 pageant as Miss Bertrand Island, representing an amusement park on Lake Hopatcong in New Jersey
Marilyn Meseke. Miss America 1938.
In 1938, Marion entered the record books, becoming the first and only town in the United States—a record still true to this day—to boast both a U.S. President and a Miss America. While the story of Warren G. Harding is familiar to most in the Marion area, Marilyn Meseke’s rise to the pinnacle of beauty pageant fame is less so.
Patricia Donnelly Harris was Miss America in 1939.
After winning the Miss America title, Pat crisscrossed the country alone on a personal appearance tour and was lovingly nicknamed “The Long-Stemmed American Beauty”. After holding the title she went on to sing in New York at the famous Stork Club, on Broadway and in several “showgirl” roles in Hollywood films.
Frances Marie Kenney Miss America in 1940.
Frances Marie Burke was crowned Miss America at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on September 7, 1940. After winning the Miss America title Burke worked as a successful model. Despite opportunities in Hollywood, she chose to stay close to her family in Philadelphia.
