Al Roker Hosts First-Ever National History Bee Competition Today, 6/1

Who was the first U.S. President from New York? What pre-Revolutionary event involved an unauthorized boarding of the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver? Operation Glimmer and Operation Taxable were decoys created to distract German forces during what WWII operation?

This school year, thousands of students from across the U.S. faced tough questions like these in the first annual National History Bee Competition. The top scorers, one from each of 32 regions, qualified for a two-day National Championship to be held in Washington, D.C. from May 11-12, 2012. And, one young scholar will walk away with a $50,000 scholarship and a national championship title.

HISTORY will air the lively final rounds of this first-ever tournament in a two-hour television special, premiering tonight, June 1 at 8 pm ET. In this fast-paced competition, students will race to demonstrate their knowledge of history from a wide array of eras and disciplines. One question may reference the Pyramids of Giza, the next, the Civil Rights Movement, and the next could have Babe Ruth or Beethoven in the answer.

As part of the buzzer-based competition, questions will incorporate HISTORY video archive and pre-taped questions read by network talent. The 32 regional winners will be narrowed down to 16 and then four, culminating in a face-off between two finalists.

Al Roker will serve as the moderator during the competition, asking the questions and interacting with the students competing. The television special will be hosted by HISTORY/H2's Brian Unger. Joining them as a roving reporter will be Rutledge Wood from HISTORY's Top Gear, along with expert commentator Bob Harris.

Judges for the History Bee are as follows: Steve Gillon, Scholar-in-Residence for HISTORY and Professor of history at the University of Oklahoma; Rhonda Haynes VP, Editor-in-Chief of the K-12 Social Studies Department at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) publishing company; and Greg Bossick, Assistant Executive Director for The National History Bee and Bowl.

The event is among the many educational initiatives supported by HISTORY to foster widespread excitement for, understanding of, and perspective about history among young people. The network partnered with the National History Bowl and Bee organization and HMH to launch the National History Bee Competition in the 2011-12 school year.

Visit www.historybee.com for more information.

The National History Bee is produced in association with Blink Productions. Executive Producers for HISTORY are Russ McCarroll and Paul Cabana.

HISTORY(R) is the leading destination for factual entertainment, including award-winning original series and specials that connect viewers with history in an informative, immersive and entertaining manner across multiple platforms. The network's all-original programming slate, including scripted event programming, features a litany of hits including American Pickers(R), American Restoration(TM), Ax Men(TM), Ice Road Truckers(R), Pawn Stars(R), Swamp People(R) and Top Shot(R) as well as epic specials such as the Emmy(R) Award-winning Gettysburg, America The Story of Us, WWII in HD and 102 Minutes That Changed America. The HISTORY website is the leading online resource for all things history, and in 2011, the United States Library of Congress selected HISTORY's Civil War 150 site for inclusion in the historic collection of Internet materials related to the American Civil War sesquicentennial. www.history.com

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