The 2nd National Spelling Bee was held at the National Museum in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, June 17, 1926, sponsored by the Louisville Courier-Journal.

The winner was Pauline Bell, age 13, who attended a one-room schoolhouse in Clarkson, Kentucky.

[4][5][6] Second place was taken by Betty Robinson of South Bend, Indiana, who would win the 4th bee in 1928, but spelled "cerise" as "cereaso" this time, and third went to Dorothy Casey of St.

Bell (married name Dunn) later attended Campbellsville Junior College and worked as a school teacher and social worker.

She died in Bowling Green, Kentucky on December 17, 2010, at age 98.