Amadeus Arkham founded the Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the criminally insane, and named it after his mother. He built it on the old grounds of his family's historic mansion on the outskirts of Gotham. Amadeus personally treated it first patient, Martin 'Mad Dog' Hawkins, who killed his wife and daughter. After he administered fatal electro-shock treatments to Hawkins, Amadeus lost all grip on his sanity and was admitted to his own institution.