Colby Burnett is the first ''

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American television 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 g ...

'' contestant to have won both the Teachers Tournament and the

Tournament of Champions A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

. Burnett, who at the time was a teacher at Fenwick High School in

Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, adjacent to Chicago. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, 26th-most populous municipality in Illinois, with a population of 54,318 as of the 2020 census. Oak Park was first se ...

, won the Teachers Tournament in November 2012. A few months later in February 2013, Burnett won the show's Tournament of Champions, taking home the $250,000 grand prize. He later appeared on season 3 of TBS's reality game show ''

King of the Nerds ''King of the Nerds'' is an American reality competition series co-produced by Electus and 5x5 Media. It was inspired by the ''Revenge of the Nerds'' films. The show is hosted by actors and executive producers Robert Carradine and Curtis Arms ...

''. Governor Pat Quinn named December 18 as "Colby Burnett Day" in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. In 2014, Burnett competed in the Battle of the Decades, making it to the semifinals, where he lost to Roger Craig.

Education

Burnett graduated from Fenwick High School. He then went on to get his BA from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

, double majoring in

History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

and

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

. Burnett then got his

MEd MED or med may refer to: Healthcare * Medical extrication device, a device for extricating an injured patient from an accident site, such as the Kendrick extrication device * Medication, often used in the plural "meds" * Medicine (or medical) * ...

in Reading Teacher Education from Dominican University.

Early life

Burnett grew up in the

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

neighborhood of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. He credits his mother with keeping him out of trouble, as well as enhancing his intellect by buying him an encyclopedia, which Burnett has read from cover to cover. After winning ''Jeopardy!'', Burnett bought his mother a new home in a better area of Chicago. When asked what the greatest accomplishment of his life was, Burnett stated, "knowing a duke of

Sealand The Principality of Sealand () is a micronation on HM Fort Roughs (also known as Roughs Tower), an offshore platform in the North Sea. It is situated on Rough Sands, a sandbar located approximately from the coast of Suffolk and from the coa ...

Education

Early life

References

External links