David Madden (born in Ridgewood, NJ, June 13, 1981) is an American game show contestant, historian, and academic competition organizer. He is best known for being a 19-day champion on Jeopardy! in July 2005. He is not to be confused with the late actor David Madden from The Partridge Family.
Jeopardy! Run[]
Regular Play[]
In 2005, Madden went on Jeopardy! from July 5 until September 19. Over the course of his 19-day run, he won a grand total of $432,400.
| Game No. | Air Date | Final score | Cumulative Winnings | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | July 5, 2005 | $16,400 | $16,400 | All but two responses and a few category names are only 7 letters long. David's first come from behind win. |
| 2 | July 6, 2005 | $18,800 | $35,200 | |
| 3 | July 7, 2005 | $34,200 | $69,400 | |
| 4 | July 8, 2005 | $25,000 | $94,400 | |
| 5 | July 11, 2005 | $32,100 | $126,500 | |
| 6 | July 12, 2005 | $29,000 | $155,500 | |
| 7 | July 13, 2005 | $18,000 | $173,500 | |
| 8 | July 14, 2005 | $25,000 | $198,500 | |
| 9 | July 15, 2005 | $18,600 | $217,100 | |
| 10 | July 18, 2005 | $22,000 | $239,100 | |
| 11 | July 19, 2005 | $30,001 | $269,101 | |
| 12 | July 20, 2005 | $11,000 | $280,101 | David's second come from behind win. |
| 13 | July 21, 2005 | $25,000 | $305,101 | |
| 14 | July 22, 2005 | $28,200 | $333,001 | Last game of Season 21. Last game with no saxophone and electric guitar riffs during the end credits. Last game where the set's background color stays blue throughout the whole show. |
| 15 | September 12, 2005 | $21,400 | $354,701 | First game of Season 22. First game with saxophone and electric guitar riffs in the credits. David's third come from behind win. Introduction of Kelly Miyahara and Jon Cannon of the Clue Crew. |
| 16 | September 13, 2005 | $23,999 | $378,700 | |
| 17 | September 14, 2005 | $13,200 | $391,900 | |
| 18 | September 15, 2005 | $22,000 | $413,900 | |
| 19 | September 16, 2005 | $16,500 | $430,400 | |
| 20 | September 19, 2005 | $13,300 | $432,400 | Lost to Victoria Groce. Kelly Miyahara of the Clue Crew introduces herself during the closing credits. |
Tournament of Champions[]
In the fourth quarterfinal game, he faced off against Michael Falk and Bob Mesko. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 22/24 correct responses (including 2/2 Daily Doubles). He and Bob got Final correct. David advanced to the semifinals. Michael's and Bob's scores, $14,000 and $14,400, respectively, were enough to advance as wildcards.
In the second semifinal game, he faced off against Bill MacDonald and Kevin Marshall. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 15/21 correct responses (including 1/1 Daily Double). He got Final incorrect. After losing to Bill (in a runaway game), he and Kevin took home $10,000.
All Star Games[]
He played with Larissa Kelly and Brad Rutter in Team Brad. In match one, they faced off against Team Buzzy and Team Colby. Throughout the match, they came up with a combined 39/45 correct responses (including 2/2 Daily Doubles). They got 2/2 Final Jeopardy correct and automatically advanced to the finals. Team Buzzy and Team Colby's scores, $26,200 and $21,800 were enough to advance to the wildcard match.
In the finals, they faced off against Team Colby and Team Ken. Throughout the finals, they came up with a combined 49/49 correct responses (including 5/5 Daily Doubles). All teams got Final correct in both games. Team Brad won $1,000,000.
Invitational Tournament[]
In the fifth quarterfinal game, he faced off against MacKenzie Jones and Arthur Chu. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 20/22 correct responses (including 1/1 Daily Double). He and Arthur got Final correct. David advanced to the semifinals via runaway. MacKenzie and Arthur took home $5,000.
In the first semifinal game, he faced off against Amy Schneider and Jennifer Quail. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 13/14 correct responses (including 2/2 Daily Doubles). He and Amy got Final correct, but after losing to Amy, he and Jennifer took home $10,000.
Aftermath[]
- Madden participated in the 2006 Tournament of Champions show, just one year after his long-running streak. He won the quarterfinal round match face to Michael Falk (ToC winner) and Bob Mesko, but lost to runner-up four-time champ Bill MacDonald in the semifinals, taking home $10,000 and bringing his grand total to $442,400.
- Madden was invited to take part in the 2014 Battle of the Decades tournament, but declined due to contractual issues.
- Madden had 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, which helped him with the hints. Madden's parents did not realize he was going to be on Jeopardy! until his first game aired.
- Madden participated in the 2019 All-Star Games tournament, becoming a member of Team Brad. He was selected as the seventh pick in the September 2018 draft, becoming a member of Team Brad, led by the all-time US game show winner, Brad Rutter, along with his former Princeton University Quiz Bowl teammate Larissa Kelly, who was the sixth pick in the draft. Team Brad won their first-round match, and in the final match, won the $1,000,000 grand prize, which was split between the three members. After Madden's share of the achievement, his all-time Jeopardy! earnings totaled $775,733.
- Madden participated in the inaugural Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament0. He won his quarterfinal match against MacKenzie Jones and Arthur Chu, but lost the semifinal match to Amy Schneider, taking home $10,000, taking his all-time Jeopardy! earnings total $785,733.
- As of 2025, he is the 8th-highest all-time winner, behind fellow Jeopardy! contestants, Brad Rutter, Ken Jennings, James Holzhauer, Matt Amodio, Amy Schneider, Yogesh Raut, and Mattea Roach.
Common with Other Champions[]
Jason Zuffranieri[]
- Both were champions from the end of the season to the beginning of next season, and when they left, both the new champions ended up with a single win.
- Both recorded nonlock games in their regular runs. The difference was David have 5 and Jason had 6.
- The difference is that David took second place three times before the Final Jeopardy, while Jason held first place before losing.
- The ToC in which they both appeared was held in May, with both losing to 4-time champions (David in the semifinals, Jason in the wild card after losing). Also, one thing in common is that an unexpected participant won this competition. Also, there was a person with the same name among the participants (S22: David Rozenson, S37: Ryan Bilger and Ryan Hemmel). Also, there was a contestant whose name was Kavanaugh, the former eliminated in the preliminaries and the latter won.
- ToC winners Michael Falk and Sam Kavanaugh have in common that they lost their last regular game to the new champion in a Lock Game, and latter finished at $0.
- The ToC winners won the championship by beating those who beat them (Bill MacDonald and Jennifer Quail), and there was a rematch between the same people in this competition (Bill MacDonald vs. Vik Vaz and Sam Kavanaugh vs. Veronica Vichit-Vadakan, the former is a regular game, and the latter is a wildcard).
Mattea Roach[]
- Both are of the same age, born in 1981.
- Both experienced come from behind wins. The difference was that Mattea had 2 come from behind wins and David had three come from behind wins.
- When both exited, they handed over their seats to the female challenger.
- They lost to other champions in the ToC semi-finals. David to 4-time champ Bill MacDonald, Mattea to 5-time champ Andrew He. Also, the two men who defeated them and advanced to the final met a rematch in Regular (Bill - Vik Vaz, Andrew - Amy Schneider). Also, the duo didn't even win a six-game winning streak (David - Kevin Marshall, Eric Ahasic). And that 6-win champ has a record of defeating the 8-win champ in a regular game (Kevin - Tom Kavanaugh, Eric - Ryan Long).
Ryan Long[]
- In their first contest, both came from second place before FJ and had the most comeback wins three times among the champions in a 10-game winning streak.
- The day they both got off is Monday, and they were in third place before FJ. The difference is that David moved up to 2nd place. The difference is that the latter's successor champion has been on a winning streak.
- Both of them lost to 4-time champion (David - Bill MacDonald / Ryan - Maureen O'Neil) in the ToC, and the other opponents are the other 6-times champions with beating 6-times+ champions (David - Tom Kavanaugh (x8) and Kevin Marshall / Ryan - Eric Ahasic and Megan Wachspress), David is in the semi-finals and Ryan is in the quarterfinal.
Career[]
Work as an academic competition organizer[]
In 2010, he founded the National History Bee and Bowl, two academic quiz competitions for students with a history focus (the Bee is for individual students, the Bowl is for teams). Madden oversees all aspects of NHBB and has expanded the competitions to include colleges and middle schools in the USA and high schools in over twenty foreign countries. The ones outside the USA are known as the International History Bee and Bowl.
In 2012, he organized the National History Bee Middle School Competition, whose National Championships were filmed in May 2012 for broadcast on History.
Also, in 2012, Madden founded the US Geography Olympiad, which serves as the qualifying competition for students in the USA who are looking to attend the International Geography Olympiad. At the 2014 International Geography Olympiad, Madden served as head coach for the American team, which included the overall champion, James Mullen of Cupertino, California.
In 2015, Madden founded the International History Olympiad, which brought 111 students from 14 countries together for its inaugural competition, held at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.
In 2016, he founded the United States 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 got held in Arlington, Virginia, in May 2016.
In 2017, Madden founded the International Geography Bee is 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 catalog raisonné of the American artist Richard Anuszkiewicz.
From July 2007 to February 2008, he hiked the length of the east coast of the United States as a fundraiser for the Fisher House Foundation, which is a charity that provides free accommodations for family members of veterans at American military hospitals.
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 USA.