The 69th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held at Grand Hyatt Washington in Washington, D.C., on May 29–30, 1996, sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company.
Twelve-year-old Wendy Guey, from West Palm Beach, Florida, won the competition by correctly spelling the word "vivisepulture."Girl wins national spelling bee on fourth try This was Guey's fourth Bee; her previous best was fourth place in the 1993 Bee. Second place went to 13-year-old Nikki Dowdy of Houston, Texas, who missed "cervicorn."Yeager, Holly (31 May 1996). S.F. 14-year-old trips over "rickettsial' in spelling bee, San Francisco Examiner.
There were 247 participants, 51% of them female, with about one-fourth coming from a private or parochial school, and 12 from a home-schooling environment.Rose, Reta (May 1996). Scripps Howard national Spelling Bee Returns to the Nation's Capital, Scripps Howard News Service
The Bee featured two spellers marking firsts for the competition: Amanda Burke of Gate City, Virginia, became the Bee's first ever five-year repeater, and Jimmy McCarthy of Land O'Lakes, Florida, was its first deaf competitor.
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