David Madden (born June 13, 1981) is an American

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...

contestant, academic competition organizer, and

art historian Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today, ...

. He is a former 19-day champion on ''

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given genera ...

'' and holds the seventh-longest streak in ''Jeopardy'' history (tied with Jason Zuffranieri and behind only

Ken Jennings Kenneth Wayne Jennings III (born May 23, 1974) is an American game show host, author, and former game show contestant. He is the highest-earning American game show contestant, having won money on five different game shows, including $4,522,70 ...

James Holzhauer James Holzhauer (born August 6, 1984) is an American game show contestant and professional sports gambler. He is the third-highest-earning American game show contestant of all time and is best known for his 32-game winning streak as champion ...

, Julia Collins,

Amy Schneider Amy Schneider (born May 29, 1979) is an American writer and game show contestant. Winning 40 consecutive games on the quiz show '' Jeopardy!'' from November 2021 to January 2022 and the November 2022 Tournament of Champions, she holds the seco ...

, and

Matt Amodio Matthew Benjamin Amodio''Jeopardy!'', Sony, 2021 (born December 4, 1990) is an American game show contestant who won 38 consecutive games on the game show ''Jeopardy!'' in 2021, the third-longest streak in the show's history, behind Ken Jennings a ...

in this respect). Madden is the founder and executive director of the

National History Bee and Bowl The National History Bee and Bowl (NHBB) are nationwide history quiz competitions for high school, middle school, and elementary students in the United States. International Academic Competitions oversees both NHBB and the comparable Internation ...

, the International History Bee and Bowl, the United States Geography Championships, the US Academic Bee and Bowl, the National Science Bee, the National Humanities Bee, the National Political Science Bee, the

International History Olympiad The International History Olympiad is a competition for top history students from around the world. The International History Olympiad was founded by International Academic Competitions (IAC), though prior participation in IAC events (such as the ...

, and the International Geography Bee. These are all organized under the umbrella organization of International Academic Competitions.

Early life

During his time at Ridgewood High School in

Ridgewood, New Jersey Ridgewood is a village in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 24,958,Quiz Bowl team, which he captained to a second place finish at the 1999 National Academic Championship. Madden attended

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

, graduating as a

Woodrow Wilson School The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (formerly the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs) is a professional public policy school at Princeton University. The school provides an array of comprehensive course ...

major in 2003. He attended the

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...

, receiving a master's degree in international relations.

''Jeopardy!''

Making his first appearance on the July 5, 2005 episode, Madden continued on a winning streak through September 19, winning a total of nineteen games and $432,400. His last appearance during non-tournament play was on September 19, when he was defeated by Victoria Groce, a musician from

Decatur, Georgia Decatur is a city in, and the county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, which is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. With a population of 24,928 in the 2020 census, the municipality is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple ZIP Codes ...

, who later appeared as a panelist on '' The Chase''. During the 2006 Tournament of Champions, Madden won his first-round match (defeating the eventual winner of the Tournament, Michael Falk), but failed to win his semifinal match, 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. He claims to have studied a great deal in preparation for the show, which helped him with the clues. Madden's parents did not realize he was going to be on ''Jeopardy!'' until his first game aired. Madden's streak of 19 wins in regular games was the second-longest in ''

'' history (after Jennings). He was later surpassed by Julia Collins (20 wins in 2014),

(32, 2019),

(38, 2021),

(40, 2022) and

Mattea Roach Mattea Roach (born October 26, 1998) is a Canadian tutor and game show contestant who held a 23-game winning streak on the game show ''Jeopardy!'' from April 5, 2022, to May 6, 2022. Roach was the most successful Canadian to play ''Jeopardy!'' a ...

(23, 2022). Madden now has the seventh-longest ''Jeopardy!'' winning streak tied with Jason Zuffranieri. His total winnings in regular games, $432,400, were also the second-highest (after Jennings). Madden currently has the sixth-highest total winnings including tournament play. 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 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 Bradford Gates Rutter (born January 31, 1978) is an American game show contestant, TV host, producer, and actor. With over $5.1 million in winnings, he is currently the 2nd highest-earning American game show contestant of all time, behind Ken ...

, along with his former Princeton University Quiz Bowl teammate,

Larissa Kelly Larissa Kelly (born February 10, 1980) is an American multiple-time champion on the U.S. game show ''Jeopardy!'', currently resident in Richmond, California. She is a writer and academic. Biography Kelly grew up in Newton, Massachusetts and attend ...

who was the sixth pick in the draft. Team Brad won their first-round match and in the final episode, airing on March 5, 2019, Team Brad won the All-Star Games Tournament grand prize of $1,000,000, which was split between the three team members. After Madden's share of the prize, his all-time Jeopardy! earnings totaled $775,733.33.

Work as academic competition organizer

In 2010, Madden founded the

, two academic quiz competitions for students with a history focus (the Bee is for individual students, the Bowl is for teams). He oversees all aspects of NHBB, and has expanded the competitions to include colleges and middle schools in the U.S., and high schools in over 20 foreign countries. The competitions outside the USA are known as the International History Bee and Bowl. In 2012, Madden organized the National History Bee Middle School Competition, whose National Championships were filmed in May 2012 for broadcast on

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

. Also in 2012, Madden founded the United States Geography Championships, which serves as the qualifying competition for students in the USA who are looking to attend the

International Geography Olympiad The International Geography Olympiad (iGeo) is an annual competition for 16- to 19-year-old geography students from all over the world. Students chosen to represent their countries are some of the best, chosen from thousands of students who ...

. At the 2014 International Geography Olympiad, he served as head coach for the American team, which included the overall champion, James Mullen of

Cupertino, California Cupertino ( ) is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, directly west of San Jose on the western edge of the Santa Clara Valley with portions extending into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The population was 57,82 ...

. In 2015, Madden founded the

, which brought 111 students from 14 countries together for its inaugural competition, held at the

College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William ...

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. It is ...

. In 2016, Madden founded the US Academic Bee and Bowl, the National Science Bee, and the National Humanities Bee, all of which are currently directed at students in eighth grade and younger. The inaugural National Championships for all of these events was held in Arlington, Virginia, in May 2016. In 2017, Madden founded the International Geography Bee as a worldwide geography quiz competition. The inaugural IGB World Championships were held in 2018 in Berlin in conjunction with the 3rd International History Olympiad.

Other work

Madden is a co-author of the 2010

catalogue raisonné A ''catalogue raisonné'' (or critical catalogue) is a comprehensive, annotated listing of all the known artworks by an artist either in a particular medium or all media. The works are described in such a way that they may be reliably identified ...

of the American artist

Richard Anuszkiewicz Richard Joseph Anuszkiewicz (; May 23, 1930 – May 19, 2020) was an American painter, printmaker, and sculptor. Life and work Anuszkiewicz was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, the son of Victoria (Jankowski) and Adam Anuszkiewicz, who worked in a pap ...

. 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 Fisher House Foundation is a charity and foundation that builds comfort homes where military & veterans families can stay free of charge, while a loved one is in the hospital. Fisher Houses are located at major military and VA medical centers n ...

, a charity that provides free accommodations for family members of veterans at American military hospitals. Madden is an Ambassador for the

Rainforest Alliance The Rainforest Alliance is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) with staff in more than 20 countries and operations in more than 70 countries. It was founded in 1987 by Daniel Katz, an American environmental activist, who serves ...

where he is establishing several initiatives related to environmental education, including the National Ecology and Environmental Science Exam in the USA and the International Environmental Science Olympiad, which will debut in Ecuador in 2023.

References

External links