Champions
Of the twenty-three National Geographic Bee champions, twenty-one are male and two are female. Five are from the state of Washington, four are from the state of Michigan, three are from Texas, two are from Kansas, and various other states have been home to one champion each. The winner of the 2012 finals received a $25,000 scholarship, a lifetime membership to the National Geographic Society, and a trip for 2 to the Galapagos Islands. The second-place finisher received $15,000, the third-place finisher received $10,000, and the fourth-place finisher received $1,000. Other top ten finishers received $500. Champions and other top finishers are invited to apply to the three-member U.S. team sent to the biannual National Geographic World Championship.
| Year | Winner's Name | State | Grade | Final Question | Answer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Jack Staddon | Kansas | Eighth | Name the flat intermontane area located at an elevation of about 10,000 feet (3,050 m) in the central Andes. | Altiplano | First Champion |
| 1990 | Susannah Batko-Yovino | Pennsylvania | Sixth | Mount Erebus is a volcano on which continent? | Antarctica | First female champion |
| 1991 | David Stillman | Idaho | Eighth | What type of landform is commonly associated with orographic precipitation? | Mountain | Had a perfect score in the finals |
| 1992 | Lawson Fite | Washington | Eighth | Many coastal countries have established so-called EEZs—areas extending 200 nautical miles (370 km) from shore over which countries have sovereign rights for resource exploration. What do the initials EEZ stand for? | Exclusive Economic Zone | |
| 1993 | Noel Erinjeri | Michigan | Eighth | Tagalog is one of the three main native languages of which island country in Asia? | The Philippines | Was in the finals in 1992 |
| 1994 | Anders Knospe | Montana | Eighth | The Tagus River roughly divides which European country into two agricultural regions? | Portugal | |
| 1995 | Chris Galeczka | Michigan | Eighth | Pashtu and Dari are the official languages of which mountainous, landlocked country in southwestern Asia? | Afghanistan | Was in the finals in 1994 |
| 1996 | Seyi Fayanju | New Jersey | Seventh | Name the European co-principality whose heads of state are the President of France and the Bishop of Urgel. | Andorra | Had a perfect score in the finals; presented an object in the 1994 finals, when he was the New Jersey state champion; was a contestant on the kids game show Figure It Out |
| 1997 | Alex Kerchner | Washington | Seventh | Asia's most densely populated country has about three million people and an area of less than 250 square miles (402 km²). Name this country. | Singapore | Was in the finals in 1996, where he finished 4th and went crying off the stage when he lost. |
| 1998 | Petko Peev | Michigan | Eighth | More than 80 million people live in the European Union's most populous member country. Name this country. | Germany | |
| 1999 | David Beihl | South Carolina | Eighth (homeschooled) | The condition characterized by unusually cold ocean temperature in the equatorial region of the eastern Pacific Ocean is known by what Spanish name? | La Niña | First Home-schooled Champion |
| 2000 | Felix Peng | Connecticut | Eighth | Name two of the three largest sections of Denmark, which include its mainland peninsula and two largest islands | Jutland, Sjaelland and Fyn | |
| 2001 | Kyle Haddad-Fonda | Washington | Eighth | Below the equilibrium line of glaciers there is a region of melting, evaporation, and sublimation. Name this zone. | Zone of ablation | Rhodes Scholar, Harvard graduate; Was in the finals in 1999 |
| 2002 | Calvin McCarter | Michigan | Fifth (homeschooled) | Lop Nur, a marshy depression at the east end of the Tarim Basin, is a nuclear test site for which country? | China (People's Republic) | Youngest champion |
| 2003 | James Williams | Washington | Eighth (homeschooled) | Goa, a state in southwestern India, was a possession of which country until 1961? | Portugal | Also a competitor in the National Middle School Science Bowl and National Science Olympiad. |
| 2004 | Andrew Wojtanik | Kansas | Eighth | Peshawar, a city in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan, has had strategic importance for centuries because of its location near what historic pass? | Khyber Pass | Wrote Afghanistan to Zimbabwe guide with important information for each country. |
| 2005 | Nathan Cornelius | Minnesota | Seventh (homeschooled) | Lake Gatún, an artificial lake that constitutes part of the Panama Canal system, was created by damming which river? | Chagres River | |
| 2006 | Bonny Jain | Illinois | Eighth | Name the mountains that extend across much of Wales, from the Irish Sea to the Bristol Channel. | Cambrian Mountains | Placed 13th in 2006 Scripps National Spelling Bee; was in the finals in 2005 |
| 2007 | Caitlin Snaring | Washington | Eighth (homeschooled) | A city that is divided by a river of the same name was the imperial capital of Vietnam for more than a century. Name this city, which is still an important cultural center. | Huế | Had a perfect score in the finals; second female champion |
| 2008 | Akshay Rajagopal | Nebraska | Sixth | The urban area of Cochabamba has been in the news recently due to protests over the privatization of the municipal water supply and regional autonomy issues. Cochabamba is the third-largest conurbation in what country? | Bolivia | Had a perfect score in the finals.
Won the Bee on his first attempt at the school, state and national level. |
| 2009 | Eric Yang | Texas | Seventh | Timis County shares its name with a tributary of the Danube and is located in the western part of which European country? | Romania | Had a perfect score in the finals |
| 2010 | Aadith Moorthy | Florida | Eighth | The largest city in northern Haiti was renamed following Haiti’s independence from France. What is the present-day name of this city? | Cap-Haïtien | Won the bee the first year he came to the National Level. |
| 2011 | Tine Valencic | Texas | Seventh | Thousands of mountain climbers and trekkers rely on Sherpas to aid their ascent of Mount Everest. The southern part of Mount Everest is located in which Nepalese national park? | Sagarmatha National Park | Had a perfect score in the finals |
| 2012 | Rahul Nagvekar | Texas | Eighth | Which Bavarian city located on the Danube River was a legislative seat of the Holy Roman Empire from 1663 to 1806? | Regensburg | First time contender in the National Championship |
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