Vancouver student runner-up at National History Bee in Atlanta

Andrew Douglas, a fifth-grader at Dwight D. Eisenhower Elementary School in Vancouver, advanced to the championship round Saturday at the National History Bee in Atlanta and took the National Elementary Runner-Up title.

Eleven-year-old Andrew advanced to the championship round by being the first student to correctly identify the Montana battle that involved Marcus Reno: the Battle of Little Bighorn.

However, he stumbled on the next question: “In what decade did the Haymarket Square Riot occur?”

The correct answer is the 1880s.

In March, Andrew was among thousands of elementary and middle school students who competed at 37 regional competitions. Andrew placed first at the regional championship and advanced to represent Oregon and Southwest Washington at the National History Bee with 700 other students.

Andrew’s father, David Douglas, teaches at Columbia River High School. Andrew’s mother, Sara Douglas, is a reading specialist at Marrion Elementary School. Jan Keenan, Andrew’s teacher at Eisenhower, has encouraged his love of history, his father said.

David Douglas said his son developed a passion for history on his own, including volunteering at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site since he was 8 years old. He has portrayed a variety of historic characters, from the children of clerks to a young apprentice. He will play a young trapper Saturday at the fort’s annual Brigade Encampment.

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