History of Ken Jennings in Timeline
Ken Jennings is an American game show host, author, and former Jeopardy! contestant. He gained fame in 2004 for his unprecedented 74-game winning streak on Jeopardy!, earning him the record for highest-earning American game show contestant. Prior to his television career, Jennings worked as a computer programmer. His success on Jeopardy! brought considerable media attention to the show. He is now the host of Jeopardy!
May 23, 1974: Ken Jennings Born
On May 23, 1974, Kenneth Wayne Jennings III was born in Edmonds, Washington. He would later become a famous game show host, contestant, and author.
1996: Transfers to BYU
In 1996, Ken Jennings transferred to Brigham Young University (BYU), where he later met his wife and joined the quizbowl team.
2000: Graduates from BYU
In 2000, Ken Jennings graduated from Brigham Young University (BYU) with a double major in English and computer science.
2003: Takes Jeopardy! Contestant Exam
In 2003, Ken Jennings took the contestant exam for Jeopardy! but did not hear back from the show for a year. The show's rules changed at the beginning of its 20th season in 2003, allowing contestants to remain as long as they continue to win.
January 2004: Tom Walsh's Winning Streak
In January 2004, Tom Walsh set the record winning streak after the rule changes on Jeopardy! with $186,900 in eight games, before Ken Jennings's run.
June 2, 2004: Ken Jennings's First Jeopardy! Episode
On June 2, 2004, Ken Jennings's run on Jeopardy! began during the show's 20th season. He unseated two-time returning champion Jerry Harvey.
September 20, 2004: Tournament of Champions Airs
From September 20, 2004, through October 1, 2004, the Tournament of Champions aired, interrupting Ken Jennings's run on Jeopardy!
October 1, 2004: Tournament of Champions Concludes
From September 20, 2004, through October 1, 2004, the Tournament of Champions aired, interrupting Ken Jennings's run on Jeopardy!
November 2, 2004: U.S. Presidential Election
On Tuesday, November 2, 2004, the 2004 United States presidential election took place, and no first-run episode of Jeopardy! was scheduled, interrupting Ken Jennings's run.
November 10, 2004: College Championship Airs
From November 10, 2004, to November 23, 2004, the College Championship aired, interrupting Ken Jennings's run on Jeopardy!
November 23, 2004: College Championship Concludes
From November 10, 2004, to November 23, 2004, the College Championship aired, interrupting Ken Jennings's run on Jeopardy!
November 30, 2004: Ken Jennings's 75th and Final Jeopardy! Game
On November 30, 2004, Ken Jennings's reign as Jeopardy! champion ended after 74 games when he lost to Nancy Zerg in his 75th game. The Final Jeopardy! category was Business & Industry, and the clue pertained to H&R Block. Jennings incorrectly answered FedEx, losing the game.
December 1, 2004: Guest Appearance on Jeopardy!
On December 1, 2004, the day after his defeat, Ken Jennings made a guest appearance at the start of the broadcast of Jeopardy!, where Alex Trebek acknowledged his success and records.
2004: Ken Jennings on Jeopardy!
In 2004, Ken Jennings tried out for Jeopardy! and began his initial record-breaking run, securing 74 consecutive wins and earning the title of highest-earning American game show contestant, bringing significant media attention to the show.
2004: End of Initial Jeopardy! Winning Streak
In 2004, Ken Jennings' 74-game winning streak on Jeopardy! came to an end when he was defeated by Nancy Zerg in his 75th appearance.
2004: Becomes a Household Name
In 2004, the attention from Jeopardy! changed Ken Jennings's life, turning him into a household name. He appeared on television programs and received offers from companies such as H&R Block and FedEx.
November 2005: Six Degrees of Ken Jennings Column
Starting in November 2005, Ken Jennings had a column in Mental Floss magazine called "Six Degrees of Ken Jennings", where readers submitted two wildly different things that Jennings had to connect in exactly six steps.
2005: Commercial Pitchman
In 2005, Jennings engaged in several endorsements, including a deal with Microsoft to promote its Encarta encyclopedia software.
2005: Comedy Central Game Show Project
In 2005, Jennings was slated to host a new game show for Comedy Central set to premiere, but the project later stalled in development.
2005: Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions
In 2005, Ken Jennings returned to Jeopardy! for the 15-week, 75-show Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions. He was automatically placed in the finals, where he finished second to Brad Rutter.
2005: Jeopardy!: An Inside Look at America's Favorite Quiz Show DVD Release
In 2005, Ken Jennings's losing episode was included on the Jeopardy!: An Inside Look at America's Favorite Quiz Show DVD release.
July 4, 2006: Inauguration of Trivia Tuesday Newsletter
On July 4, 2006, Jennings started his weekly trivia newsletter called Trivia Tuesday, containing seven questions.
2006: Ken Jennings vs. the Rest of the World Pitch
As of mid-2006, Jennings was still shopping a potential game show titled Ken Jennings vs. the Rest of the World.
2006: Commercial Pitchman
In 2006, Jennings continued to endorse Cingular Wireless (now AT&T) featured Jennings in commercials portraying him as having lots of "friends and family".
2006: Pyramid Pilot and Game Show Appearances
In 2006, Jennings taped a pilot for a proposed CBS revival of Pyramid, titled Million Dollar Pyramid, and was a contestant on other game shows including Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! and 1 vs. 100.
2006: American Crossword Puzzle Tournament Win
In 2006, Jennings won the rookie division of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament.
2006: NAQT Moderator
In 2006, Ken Jennings moderated at the National Academic Quiz Tournaments (NAQT) High School National Championship Tournament in Chicago.
2006: Publication of Brainiac
In 2006, Ken Jennings' book "Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs", detailing his Jeopardy! experiences and trivia culture research, was published.
December 2007: Marion Jones's Medals Stripped
In December 2007, Marion Jones was stripped of her medals. This is relevant to Ken Jenning's initial run on Jeopardy! because during his first episode, his answer in Final Jeopardy! was accepted even though he only used the last name of Marion Jones.
2007: Use of Recycled Material During Strike
During the 2007 writers strike, Jeopardy! used a mix of recycled material and newly-written questions made before the strike.
2007: Appearance on Grand Slam
In 2007, Ken Jennings appeared on the game show Grand Slam.
October 2008: Regaining Highest American Game Show Winnings
In October 2008, Jennings regained the record for highest American game show winnings after appearances on several other game shows, culminating with his results on Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
2008: Appearance on Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
In 2008, Ken Jennings appeared on Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, holding the possibility of exceeding Brad Rutter's total game show winnings.
2008: Stump the Master Appearance
In 2008, Ken Jennings appeared on the game show Stump the Master.
2009: NAQT Moderator
In 2009, Ken Jennings moderated at the National Academic Quiz Tournaments (NAQT) High School National Championship Tournament in Chicago.
October 2010: End of Six Degrees of Ken Jennings Column
The "Six Degrees of Ken Jennings" column in Mental Floss magazine ended with the September–October 2010 issue.
2011: Jeopardy!'s "IBM Challenge"
In 2011, Ken Jennings participated in Jeopardy!'s "IBM Challenge," which featured IBM's Watson against Jennings and Rutter. Watson won, and Jennings finished second. During the final round, Jennings wrote "I for one welcome our new computer overlords."
2011: Senate Run Request
In 2011, Ken Jennings recalled that in 2004, Democratic politicians Chuck Schumer and Harry Reid unsuccessfully asked Jennings to run for the United States Senate from Utah.
2012: Monica Thieu Jeopardy! College Champion
In 2012, Monica Thieu was the Jeopardy! College Champion, and would later join Team Ken at the 2019 Jeopardy! All-Star Games.
2014: Appearance on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
In 2014, Jennings appeared on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire as a contestant during Guinness World Records Edition themed week, where he won $100,000 after deciding to walk away.
2014: Jeopardy! Battle of the Decades Tournament
In 2014, Ken Jennings participated in the Jeopardy! Battle of the Decades tournament, finishing second and winning $100,000.
March 2015: End of Kennections in Parade
In March 2015, Parade magazine ceased the quiz Kennections and removed links to archived quizzes.
2015: Matt Jackson runner-up at Tournament of Champions
In 2015, Matt Jackson was the runner-up at the Tournament of Champions, and would later join Team Ken at the 2019 Jeopardy! All-Star Games.
2016: Appearance on 500 Questions
In 2016, Ken Jennings appeared on the game show 500 Questions.
2016: 500 Questions Appearance
In 2016, Monica Thieu eliminated Ken Jennings in an episode of 500 Questions.
September 7, 2017: Omnibus Podcast Launch
On September 7, 2017, HowStuffWorks unveiled a new show entitled Omnibus, co-hosted by Jennings and John Roderick, where they discuss topics they fear might be lost to history.
2017: Appearance on @midnight
In 2017, Ken Jennings appeared on the game show @midnight.
March 2018: FleetWit Trivia Player
As of March 2018, Ken Jennings had answered 89 percent of questions correctly on trivia app FleetWit and has won over $2,000.
2019: Best Ever Trivia Show Appearance
In 2019, Jennings was one of eight recurring "Trivia Experts" for Best Ever Trivia Show.
2019: Jeopardy! All-Star Games
In 2019, Ken Jennings participated in the Jeopardy! All-Star Games as a team captain, finishing second and winning $100,000.
January 2020: Jeopardy! Greatest of All Time Tournament
In January 2020, Ken Jennings won the Jeopardy! Greatest of All Time tournament against Brad Rutter and James Holzhauer, earning the title "Greatest of All Time" and a $1,000,000 prize.
March 3, 2020: Washington State Legislature Congratulation
On March 3, 2020, the Washington State Legislature approved Senate Resolution 8704, congratulating Jennings for his achievements on game shows.
May 2020: LearnedLeague Participation
Ken Jennings' last active season in LearnedLeague was LL85 in May 2020, where he played in the A Rundle of the Laguna league and finished in 5th place.
September 2020: Consulting Producer of Jeopardy!
In September 2020, Ken Jennings joined Jeopardy! as a consulting producer for the show's 37th season.
October 29, 2020: Alex Trebek Tapes Final Episode
On October 29, 2020, Alex Trebek taped his final episode of Jeopardy! after being diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer.
November 8, 2020: Alex Trebek's Death
On November 8, 2020, Alex Trebek passed away from pancreatic cancer. Ken Jennings had been named the interim host for the next taping.
November 2020: Joining The Chase Revival
In November 2020, Jennings joined the ABC revival of The Chase as one of the chasers.
November 2020: Announcement as Guest Host
In November 2020, Ken Jennings was announced as the first in a series of guest hosts for Jeopardy! after Trebek's passing.
2020: Master Minds Appearance
In 2020, Jennings was one of the six trivia experts on Best Ever's successor, Master Minds.
2020: Returns to Jeopardy!
In 2020, Ken Jennings returned to Jeopardy! as a producer and later became a guest host after the passing of Alex Trebek.
2020: Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time
In 2020, Ken Jennings was awarded the first-place prize in Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time.
February 19, 2021: Final Episode as Guest Host
February 19, 2021, marked the air date of Ken Jennings' final episode as guest host of Jeopardy! during his initial guest hosting stint.
November 16, 2021: Discontinuation of Trivia Tuesday Newsletter
On November 16, 2021, after 800 quizzes, Jennings discontinued his Trivia Tuesday newsletter due to increasing commitments.
2021: Guest Hosting Alongside Mayim Bialik
In 2021, Ken Jennings resumed hosting Jeopardy!, sharing duties with Mayim Bialik after Mike Richards' brief tenure as host.
May 8, 2023: Jeopardy! Masters Premiere
On May 8, 2023, Jeopardy! Masters, a new primetime tournament series hosted by Jennings featuring notable Jeopardy! champions, premiered on ABC.
May 11, 2023: Bialik's Withdrawal From Jeopardy!
On May 11, 2023, Mayim Bialik withdrew from Jeopardy! due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, resulting in Jennings hosting the final 20 episodes of season 39.
May 2023: Celebrity Wheel of Fortune Appearance
In May 2023, Jennings competed on an episode of Celebrity Wheel of Fortune and won $72,800 for the Equal Justice Initiative.
May 2023: WGA Strike and Jeopardy! Hosting
In May 2023, Mayim Bialik refused to participate in the show's final week of filming as a result of the Writers Guild of America strike. As a result, Jennings was brought in as the host for filming.
2023: Sole Host of Jeopardy!
In 2023, Ken Jennings became the sole host of Jeopardy!, taking over full-time hosting duties.
2023: Streaming on Pluto TV
In 2023, Ken Jennings's entire Jeopardy! run was made available for the first time, streaming on Pluto TV.
March 25, 2025: Loss of Highest-Earning Game Show Contestant Title
On March 25, 2025, Jennings lost the title of the highest-earning American game show contestant to David Genat, who won $5,800,000 on Deal or No Deal Island.
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