Theophilus Carter

Theophilus Carter was an eccentric British inventor and furniture dealer most famous for his combination of an alarm clock and a bed, thought to be an inspiration for the illustration by Sir John Tenniel of Lewis Carrol's characters the Mad Hatter in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Hatta in Through the Looking-Glass.

[edit] Alarm clock-bed contraption

The Hatter as depicted by Tenniel, reciting his nonsense poem, "Twinkle twinkle little bat"

One of his most famous inventions is an alarm clock-bed, which dropped the sleeper out of bed when it was time to wake up.^{[citation needed]}

Carter is believed to have been Lewis Carroll's inspiration for the character of the Mad Hatter, due to his habit of standing in the door of his shop in Oxford wearing a top hat.^{[citation needed]} Carroll's illustrator Sir John Tenniel reportedly came to Oxford to sketch him.^{[citation needed]}