Historical figures · Puzzle #23 · Thursday, October 22

Historical figures: the board

Eight items, eight categories, one place each. Here is the board with every figure and where it comes from, and the best way to place them. Play today's Historical figures.

The categories

Decorated: 1 pt per 2 awards and honors
Nobel laureate: 10 pts if they won a Nobel Prize
Namesake: 1 pt per 20 things named after them
Big family: 1 pt per child
Known worldwide: 1 pt per 25 Wikipedia languages
Most looked-up: 1 pt per 400,000 Wikipedia views in 2025
Much studied: 1 pt per 8 works about them
Out of this world: 10 pts if a crater is named after them

The best board

The best board is hidden while some of these items are still in play: they're on a board again within 14 days.

The lineup, figure by figure

Aristotle
Philosopher who tutored Alexander the Great
Photo: After Lysippos, Public domain
Its figures are hidden while it's still in play: it's on a board again within 14 days.
Richard Feynman
Physicist of diagrams, bongos and safecracking
Photo: Copyright Tamiko Thiel 1984, CC BY-SA 3.0
Its figures are hidden while it's still in play: it's on a board again within 14 days.
George Washington
First president of the United States
Photo: Gilbert Stuart, Public domain
Its figures are hidden while it's still in play: it's on a board again within 14 days.
Winston Churchill
Wartime prime minister of "we shall never surrender"
Photo: Yousuf Karsh, Public domain
Its figures are hidden while it's still in play: it's on a board again within 14 days.
César Chávez
Farmworkers' union leader of "Sí, se puede"
Photo: Cesar_chavez.jpg: Joel Levine derivative work: Work permit (talk), CC BY 3.0
Its figures are hidden while it's still in play: it's on a board again within 14 days.
James Watt
Improved the steam engine; the watt is his
Photo: Henry Howard, Public domain
James Watt has a crater named after them, so their best fit on this board was Out of this world, worth 10.0. Their weakest was Nobel laureate, worth 0.0, since James Watt never won a Nobel Prize.
Decorated
received 3 awards and honors (1.5) Source: Wikidata Q9041
Nobel laureate
never won a Nobel Prize (0.0) Source: Wikidata Q9041
Namesake
has 54 things named after them on Wikidata (2.7) Source: Wikidata Q9041
Big family
had 4 children (4.0) Source: Wikidata Q9041
Known worldwide
Wikipedia has an article on them in 160 languages (6.4) Source: Wikidata Q9041
Most looked-up
their Wikipedia article was read 254,821 times in 2025 (0.6) Source: Wikimedia pageviews, 2025
Much studied
is the subject of 33 books, papers and films on Wikidata (4.1) Source: Wikidata Q9041
Out of this world
has a crater named after them (10.0) Source: Wikidata Q9041
Giuseppe Verdi
Composer of the operas Aida and La traviata
Photo: Ferdinand Mulnier, Public domain
Its figures are hidden while it's still in play: it's on a board again within 14 days.
David Bowie
Shape-shifter of Ziggy Stardust
Photo: Adam Bielawski, CC BY-SA 3.0
Its figures are hidden while it's still in play: it's on a board again within 14 days.