David Madden (Jeopardy! contestant)
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David "Dave" Madden (born June 13, 1981) is an American game show contestant, academic competition organizer, and art historian. He is a former 19-day champion on Jeopardy! and holds the eighth-longest streak in Jeopardy! history (tied with Jason Zuffranieri and behind only Ken Jennings, Amy Schneider, Matt Amodio, James Holzhauer, Mattea Roach, Cris Pannullo, and Julia Collins in this respect).
Madden is the founder and executive director of the for-profit National History Bee and Bowl, the International History Bee and Bowl, the United States Geography Championships, the US Academic Bee and Bowl, the National Science Bee, The International Science Bee, the National Humanities Bee, the National Political Science Bee, the International History Olympiad, and the International Geography Bee franchises. These are all organized under the umbrella organization of International Academic Competitions, a company owned by Madden. International Academic Competitions runs about 12 contests in 30 countries, whose participants and staff have gone on to become Jeopardy! winners themselves.[1]
Early life edit
Madden was born and raised in Ridgewood, New Jersey. During his time at Ridgewood High School, Madden competed on his school's Quiz Bowl team, which he captained to a second-place finish at the 1999 National Academic Championship. Madden attended Princeton University and graduated as a Woodrow Wilson School major in 2003. He subsequently attended the Free University of Berlin and received a master's degree in international relations in 2007.[2]
Jeopardy! edit
Making his first appearance on the July 5, 2005, episode, Madden continued on a winning streak until September 19, winning a total of 19 games and $432,400. He was eventually defeated by Victoria Groce, a musician from Decatur, Georgia.[3] During the 2006 Tournament of Champions, Madden won his first-round match[4] (defeating the eventual winner of the Tournament, Michael Falk), but failed to win his semifinal match,[5] taking home a consolation prize of $10,000 and bringing his total to $442,400.
Madden first watched Jeopardy! with a babysitter when he was 11–12 years old. Madden would get the correct response to more clues than his babysitter. Madden claims to have studied a great deal in preparation for the show. His parents did not realize that Madden was going to be on Jeopardy! until his first game aired.[6]
Madden's streak of 19 wins in regular games was the second-longest in Jeopardy! history (after Jennings). He was later surpassed by Julia Collins (20 wins in 2014), James Holzhauer (32 wins in 2019), Matt Amodio (38 wins in 2021), Amy Schneider (40 wins in 2022), and Mattea Roach (23 wins in 2022), and Cris Pannullo (21 wins in 2022). Madden now has the eighth-longest Jeopardy! winning streak tied with Jason Zuffranieri. Madden's total winnings in regular games of $432,400 were also the second-highest (after Jennings). He currently has the seventh-highest total winnings including tournament play.[7]
Madden was invited to take part in 2014's Battle of the Decades Jeopardy! event but declined due to contractual issues. However, he was invited and was able to participate in the 2019 Jeopardy! All-Star Games tournament featuring 18 past champions. Madden was selected as the seventh out of 12 picks in the All-Star Games Draft in September 2018, thus becoming a member of "Team Brad", led by the all-time Jeopardy! winnings leader, Brad Rutter, along with his former Princeton University Quiz Bowl teammate, Larissa Kelly, who was the sixth pick in the draft.[8]
Team Brad won their first-round match, and in the final episode, airing on March 5, 2019, won the All-Star Games Tournament's grand prize of $1,000,000, which was split between the three team members.[9] After Madden's share of the prize, his all-time Jeopardy! earnings totaled $775,733.33.
In 2024, Madden participated in the Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament (JIT), ultimately losing in the semifinals, taking home $10,000 and bringing his all-time Jeopardy! earnings totaled $785,733.33.
Other work edit
From July 2007 to February 2008, Madden hiked the length of the east coast of the United States as a fundraiser for the Fisher House Foundation, a charity that provides free accommodations for family members of veterans at American military hospitals.[10]
Madden is a co-author of the 2010 catalog raisonné of the American artist Richard Anuszkiewicz.
In 2020, Madden launched the website and fundraising platform Demoquiz.org, which organizes online quiz evenings on behalf of Democratic candidates for office in the U.S.
Since 2022, Madden has been an ambassador for Rainforest Alliance, which has a focus on developing educational initiatives in support of rainforest conservation.
Personal life edit
Madden married his wife, Nolwenn, in 2012.
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Grant, Meghan. "Ridgewood native David Madden and Team Brad win 'Jeopardy!' All-Star Games". North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
- ^ Web, Graham (February 8, 2012). "Alumni Profile: David Madden '03, History Bowl founder". Princeton Alumni Weekly. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
- ^ Jeopardy!. Season 22. September 19, 2005. Syndication.
- ^ Jeopardy!. Season 22. Episode 4831. September 19, 2005. Syndication.
- ^ Jeopardy!. Season 22. Episode 5002. May 16, 2006. Syndication.
- ^ "Champion Updates". Jeopardy!. Archived from the original on August 18, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
- ^ "Leaderboard of Legends | Jeopardy.com". www.jeopardy.com.
- ^ "2019 All-Star Games | Jeopardy.com". www.jeopardy.com.
- ^ "Jeopardy! Crowns a Winning Team in the First-Ever 'All-Star Games'". March 6, 2019.
- ^ "Jeopardy! Winner Hiking for Families of Wounded and Disabled Veterans". Huffington Post. October 31, 2007.