Hail the Queen: Beauty Contests Nearly 90 Years Old

Aug. 24, 2010 - Mexico's Jimena Navarrete was crowned Miss Universe Monday night in Las Vegas in the world's biggest beauty pageant event. While the crown may feel new to the 22-year-old from Guadalajara, beauty queens have reigned since the early 1920s.

The Miss America tradition began in Atlantic City in 1921 as a promotional event to entice summer tourists to stay in town past Labor Day. The term "Miss America," was reportedly coined by a local newsman, Herb Test, who declared the winner of the first annual "National Beauty Tournament" should earn the title.

The following year Mary Katherine Campbell, 15, of Columbus, Ohio (above), won the event and also earned the honor the following year, becoming the only contestant to win the title twice. Following the 1923 contest, a rule was established so that no woman can hold the Miss America title more than once.

The beauty pageant went global in 1951 with the opening of the Miss World contest and again in 1952 with the debut of the Miss Universe contest.

Needless to say the event has evolved since the early years, with winners posing in swimsuits, gowns and answering rounds of questions.

Among the controversial beauty contestant responses this year were Miss Ukraine's (Anna Poslavska) reply that she supported the use of full-body scanners in airports and Miss USA's (Rima Fakih, who is the first American Muslim to become Miss USA) statement that she opposes construction of a proposed mosque near Ground Zero in New York City.

Navarrete, who says she plans to study nutritional science, is expected to spend her year drawing attention to HIV/AIDS and breast cancer.

Photos: Getty Images, AP Photo

Sources: AFP, Pageant Center, http://www.missuniverse.com/