Miss America Pageant

Definition

The first pageant, a modest affair featuring only eight women, was held in Atlantic City in 1921. It was conceived by the town council, local businessmen and newspapermen to extend the tourist season beyond the traditional Labor Day cutoff and well into September. The first winner was sixteen-year-old Margaret Gorman whose measurements were 30-25-32. The contest was dropped in 1927 and resumed, permanently, in 1935.