daily.surf

Historical figures · Puzzle #31 · Friday, October 30

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

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

  1. Grace Hopper

    Computer pioneer who popularized the "bug"

    Photo: James S. Davis, Public domain

    Its figures are hidden while it's still in play: it's on a board again within 14 days.

  2. Gabriel García Márquez

    Novelist of One Hundred Years of Solitude

    Photo: Jose Lara, CC BY-SA 2.0

    Gabriel García Márquez won a Nobel Prize, so their best fit on this board was Nobel laureate, worth 10.0. Their weakest was Out of this world, worth 0.0, since Gabriel García Márquez has no crater named after them.

    Namesake
    has 9 things named after them on Wikidata (0.5) Source: Wikidata Q5878
    Most looked-up
    their Wikipedia article was read 635,281 times in 2025 (1.6) Source: Wikimedia pageviews, 2025
    Decorated
    received 10 awards and honors (5.0) Source: Wikidata Q5878
    Portrait sitter
    appears in 1 paintings, statues, films and more on Wikidata (0.1) Source: Wikidata Q5878
    Out of this world
    has no crater named after them (0.0) Source: Wikidata Q5878
    Far from home
    died 1,769 miles from where they were born (8.8) Source: Wikidata Q5878
    Nobel laureate
    won a Nobel Prize (10.0) Source: Wikidata Q5878
    Known worldwide
    Wikipedia has an article on them in 207 languages (8.3) Source: Wikidata Q5878

  3. Thomas Jefferson

    Wrote the Declaration of Independence

    Photo: Rembrandt Peale, Public domain

    Thomas Jefferson's best fit on this board was Known worldwide, worth 9.0: Wikipedia has an article on them in 225 languages. Their weakest was Out of this world, worth 0.0, since Thomas Jefferson has no crater named after them.

    Namesake
    has 67 things named after them on Wikidata (3.4) Source: Wikidata Q11812
    Most looked-up
    their Wikipedia article was read 2.7 million times in 2025 (6.7) Source: Wikimedia pageviews, 2025
    Decorated
    received 1 awards and honors (0.5) Source: Wikidata Q11812
    Portrait sitter
    appears in 33 paintings, statues, films and more on Wikidata (4.1) Source: Wikidata Q11812
    Out of this world
    has no crater named after them (0.0) Source: Wikidata Q11812
    Far from home
    died 3 miles from where they were born (0.0) Source: Wikidata Q11812
    Nobel laureate
    never won a Nobel Prize (0.0) Source: Wikidata Q11812
    Known worldwide
    Wikipedia has an article on them in 225 languages (9.0) Source: Wikidata Q11812

  4. George Orwell

    Author of 1984 and Animal Farm

    Photo: Cassowary Colorizations, CC BY 2.0

    Its figures are hidden while it's still in play: it's on a board again within 14 days.

  5. Louis Pasteur

    Proved germs cause disease; gave milk "pasteurized"

    Photo: Paul Nadar, Public domain

    Its figures are hidden while it's still in play: it's on a board again within 14 days.

  6. Harriet Tubman

    Led people to freedom on the Underground Railroad

    Photo: Horatio Seymour Squyer, Public domain

    Its figures are hidden while it's still in play: it's on a board again within 14 days.

  7. Martin Luther King Jr.

    Civil rights leader who had a dream

    Photo: Associated Press, Public domain

    Its figures are hidden while it's still in play: it's on a board again within 14 days.

  8. Julius Caesar

    Roman general who crossed the Rubicon

    Photo: Ángel M. Felicísimo from Mérida, España, Public domain

    Its figures are hidden while it's still in play: it's on a board again within 14 days.

All of puzzle #31 · The archive