Miss America got its start back in 1921 when Atlantic City Pageant officials awarded Margaret Gorman the title after winning multiple pageants earlier in the year.
Relive the history of the pageant with all 88 of the past Miss America winners before meeting this year's contestants.
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PHOTOS: 2016 Miss America Contestants
1921 - Margaret Gorman of Washington, DC (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1922 - Mary Katherine Campbell - Columbus, OH (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1924 - Ruth Malcomson - Philadelphia, PA (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1925 - Fay Lanphier - Oakland, CA (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1926 - Norma Smallwood - Tulsa, OK (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1927 - Lois Delander - Joliet, IL (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1933 - Marian Bergeron - West Haven, CT (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1935 - Henrietta Leaver - Pittsburgh, PA (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1936 - Rose Coyle - Philadelphia, PA (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1937 - Bette Cooper - Bertrand Island, NJ (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1938 - Marilyn Meseke - Marion, OH (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1939 - Patricia Donnelly - Detroit, MI (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1940 - Frances Burke - Philadelphia, PA (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1941 - Rosemary LaPlanche - Los Angeles, CA (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1942 - Jo-Carroll Dennison - Tyler, TX (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1943 - Jean Bartel - Los Angeles, CA (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1944 - Venus Ramey - Washington, DC (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1945 - Bess Myerson - New York, NY (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1946 - Marilyn Buferd - Los Angeles, CA (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1947 - Barbara Walker - Memphis, TN (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1948 - BeBe Shopp - Hopkins, MN (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1949 - Jacque Mercer - Litchfield, AZ (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1951 - Yolande Betbeze - Mobile, AL (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1952 - Colleen Hutchins - Salt Lake City, UT (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1953 - Neva Langley - Macon, GA (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1954 - Evelyn Ay - Ephrata, PA (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1955 - Lee Meriwether - San Francisco, CA (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1956 - Sharon Ritchie - Denver, CO (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1957 - Marian McKnight - Manning, SC (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1958 - Marilyn Van Derbur - Denver, CO (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1959 - Mary Ann Mobley - Brandon, MS (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1960 - Lynda Mead - Natchez, MS (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1961 - Nancy Fleming - Montague, MI (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1962 - Maria Fletcher - Asheville, NC (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1963 - Jacquelyn Mayer - Sandusky, OH (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1964 - Donna Axum - El Dorado, AR (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1965 - Vonda Van Dyke - Phoenix, AZ (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1966 - Deborah Bryant - Overland Park, KS (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1967 - Jane Jayroe - Laverne, OK (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1968 - Debra Barnes - Pittsburg, KS (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1969 - Judith Ford - Belvidere, IL (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1970 - Pamela Eldred - West Bloomfield, MI (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1971 - Phyllis George - Denton, TX (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1972 - Laurel Lea Schaefer - Bexley, OH (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1973 - Terry Meeuwsen - De Pere, WI (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1974 - Rebecca King - Denver, CO (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1975 - Shirley Cothran - Denton, TX (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1976 - Tawny Godin - Saratoga Springs, NY (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1977 - Dorothy Benham - Edina, MN (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1978 - Susan Perkins - Columbus, OH (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1979 - Kylene Barker - Roanoke, VA (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1980 - Cheryl Prewitt - Ackerman, MS (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1981 - Susan Powell - Elk City, OK (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1982 - Elizabeth Ward - Russellville, AR (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1983 - Debra Maffett - Anaheim, CA (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1984 - Suzette Charles (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1984 - Vanessa Williams - Millwood, NY (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1985 - Sharlene Wells - Salt Lake City, UT (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1986 - Susan Akin - Meridian, MS (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1987 - Kellye Cash - Memphis, TN (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1988 - Kaye Lani Rae Rafko - Monroe, MI (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1989 - Gretchen Carlson - Anoka, MN (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1990 - Debbye Turner - Columbia, MO (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1991 - Marjorie Vincent - Oak Park, IL (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1992 - Carolyn Sapp - Honolulu, HI (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1993 - Leanza Cornett - Jacksonville, FL (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1994 - Kimberly Aiken - Columbia, SC (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1995 - Heather Whitestone - Birmingham, AL (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1996 - Shawntel Smith - Muldrow, OK (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1997 - Tara Dawn Holland - Overland Park, KS (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1998 - Kate Shindle - Evanston, IL (Photo/Miss America Organization)
1999 - Nicole Johnson - Virginia Beach, VA (Photo/Miss America Organization)
2000 - Heather French - Maysville, KY (Photo/Miss America Organization)
2001 - Angela Perez Baraquio - Honolulu, HI (Photo/Miss America Organization)
2002 - Katie Harman - Gresham, Oregon (Photo/Miss America Organization)
2003 - Erika Harold - Urbana, IL (Photo/Miss America Organization)
2004 - Ericka Dunlap - Orlando, FL (Photo/Miss America Organization)
2005 - Deidre Downs - Birmingham, AL (Photo/Miss America Organization)
2006 - Jennifer Berry - Tulsa, OK (Photo/Miss America Organization)
2007 - Lauren Nelson - Lawton, OK (Photo/Miss America Organization)
2008 - Kirsten Haglund - Farmington Hills, MI (Photo/Miss America Organization)
2009 - Katie Stam - Seymour, IN (Photo/Miss America Organization)
2010 - Caressa Cameron - Fredericksburg, VA (Photo/Miss America Organization)
2011 - Teresa Scanlan - Gering, NE (Photo/Miss America Organization)
2012 - Laura Kaeppeler - Kenosha, WI (Photo/Miss America Organization)
2013 - Mallory Hytes Hagan - Brooklyn, NY (Photo/Miss America Organization)
2014 - Nina Davuluri - Syracuse, NY (Photo/Miss America Organization)
2015 - Kira Kazantsev - Manhattan, NY (Photo/Miss America Organization)