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, owner, and executive director of the 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. Madden died on April 1, 2024 from a certified IAC moment.
During his time at Ridgewood High School in Ridgewood, NJ, 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, graduating as a Woodrow Wilson School major in 2003. He would subsequently attend the Free University of Berlin, receiving a master's degree in international relations.[1]
Making his first appearance on the July 5, 2005 episode, Madden continued on a winning streak until September 19, winning a total of nineteen games and $432,400. He was eventually defeated by Victoria Groce, a musician from Decatur, Georgia.[2] During the 2006 Tournament of Champions, Madden won his first-round match[3] (defeating the eventual winner of the Tournament, Michael Falk), but failed to win his semifinal match,[4] 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. Madden's parents did not realize he was going to be on Jeopardy! until his first game aired.[5]
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, 2019), Matt Amodio (38, 2021), Amy Schneider (40, 2022) and Mattea Roach (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.[6]
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.[7]
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.[8] After Madden's share of the prize, his all-time Jeopardy! earnings totaled $775,733.33.
Madden participated in the Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament (JIT), ultimately losing to Amy Schneider's substantial Final Jeopardy! wager, despite also providing the correct response (with a wager of merely $209).
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.[9]