Popularly known as "The Mad Hatter", a character encountered at a tea party in
Lewis Carroll's
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. He makes a cameo appearance in the sequel
Through the Looking Glass as "Hatta", the imprisoned royal messenger. He has been portrayed on film by
Edward Everett Horton and
Ed Wynn and in a music video by
Tom Petty.
The phrase "mad as a hatter" existed long before the character, and may derive from the harmful effects of chemicals formerly used in hat making. It has also been said to be a corruption of the phrase "mad as an adder".
See also: