diff --git a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/SparkContext.scala b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/SparkContext.scala
index 032b3d744c619cd8a736d6148bf6c347fb248dfd..634c10c33fc8692d7978cf047865958d633e39b6 100644
--- a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/SparkContext.scala
+++ b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/SparkContext.scala
@@ -66,6 +66,12 @@ class SparkContext(config: SparkConf) extends Logging {
   // contains a map from hostname to a list of input format splits on the host.
   private[spark] var preferredNodeLocationData: Map[String, Set[SplitInfo]] = Map()
 
+  /**
+   * Create a SparkContext that loads settings from system properties (for instance, when
+   * launching with ./bin/spark-submit).
+   */
+  def this() = this(new SparkConf())
+
   /**
    * :: DeveloperApi ::
    * Alternative constructor for setting preferred locations where Spark will create executors.