Amadeus Arkham

Amadeus Arkham founded the Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane, and named it after his mother, whom he euthanized as treatment for her dementia.

Building it on the old grounds of his family's historic mansion on the outskirts of Gotham, Amadeus personally treated its 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.

Constructing Arkham Asylum
Cyrus Pinkney first met Amadeus Arkham when the latter was a young student, but Cyrus was already impressed by Amadeus' intelligence and kind personality. Cyrus was supportive of Amadeus' plans to rehabilitate Gotham City's criminals, leading to the former, along with Judge Solomon Wayne, and designed what later became known as Arkham Asylum. Amadeus was known to have constructed "The Devils' Slide" which were stairs that led to the underbelly of the Asylum. The underbelly was known as "The Gallows". Amadeus had this section constructed so he could monitor patients away from the common areas. It would later be discovered that its true function was to torture and experiment on the mentally unsound.

Amadeus later concocted a drug that enables its drinker to fall into a hibernative state that simulated death for a certain period of time. That drug was used by Cyrus to escape an attempt on his life by Henry Cobblepot, who died in a road accident that was arranged by Cyrus not long after.

Arkham Origins: Blackgate Incident
At some point, Blackgate established an Arkham Wing within the prison.

Arkham Asylum Incident
The grave of Amadeus could be seen during the Joker's takeover of Arkham, and it appeared as if someone had dug it up. Years later, Quincy Sharp discovered a series of hidden writings Amadeus had hidden in the Asylum before his committal.

Becoming obsessed with Amadeus, Sharp became convinced that the Ghost of Amadeus had risen from his grave, was wandering the Asylum halls, talked to him and drove him to secretly stalk and kill his patients.

The spirit of Arkham is unlocked by scanning several hidden encrypted tablets, scattered around Arkham, supposedly by Amadeus himself, though it is later revealed that they were written by Sharp, who believed he is Arkham reincarnated. The tablets retell the story of Amadeus' father dying from an undisclosed disease and Amadeus euthanizing his dementia-stricken mother, the construction of Arkham Asylum, the murder of Amadeus' wife and daughter by Martin "Mad Dog" Hawkins, Mad Dog's death at the hands of Arkham, and finally Amadeus' descent into madness.

Amadeus' cell can also be found in the game as part of a Riddle, the entirety of its walls and floor covered with binding circles.

Arkham City Incident
Following the destruction of the Asylum during the Joker's riots, Mayor Sharp ordered that Arkham Island be sold. It was used as a TYGER base to police the new prison facility, Arkham City. Following Protocol 10, the Asylum was abandoned altogether.

Journal Entries
His diary entries are recorded in a preview for the game, showing footage of the asylum and its patients:

Journal Entry #1, June 4, 1920 "Mother's dead. Dementia took her. With my inheritance, I can begin working to cure the world's ailments. The name Amadeus Arkham will become legendary."

Journal Entry #2, September, 1920 "A radical step must be taken to combat Gotham City's diseased."

Journal Entry #3, February, 1921 "Construction has begun on the Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane. Finally, I will be able to treat my patients properly."

Journal Entry #4, April 1, 1921 "Returned home today to find my family murdered by my patient Martin Hawkins. I feel oddly detached."

Journal Entry #5, September 17, 1921 "Today, I begin treatment of Martin Hawkins. I will rehabilitate this man."

Journal Entry #6, April 2, 1922 "During treatment with Hawkins, I resorted to extreme measures. It proved more than he could sustain."

Journal Entry #7, June 4, 1923 "Gotham City is lost. The lunatics are irrepressible. Incurable. The only sensible treatment: Eradication."

Journal Entry #8, October 18, 1923 "Am I a doctor, or a murderer? I can no longer differentiate. I will give my last breath to deal with the filth that infects Gotham City!"

Batman's Database Profile
Amadeus

Attributes

 * Highly respected psychiatrist, until his fall to insanity
 * Heir to the Arkham land and fortune
 * Delusional schizophrenic

Behind the Scenes
Based on the character's appearance in the graphic novel, , it was revealed that Arkham's mentally ill mother, Elizabeth Arkham, suffered delusions of being tormented by a supernatural bat. After he saw the creature himself, Arkham cut his mother's throat to end her suffering.

Traumatized after the deaths of his wife and daughter, Arkham donned his mother's wedding dress and razor, and vowed to bind the evil spirit of "The Bat" with sorcery. Arkham treated Hawkins for months before he finally killed him by means of electrocution during a shock therapy session. Arkham continued his mission even after he was incarcerated in his own asylum, and using his fingernails, he scratched the words of a binding spell all over his cell until his death. Those spells could be seen throughout his cell in Batman: Arkham Asylum and on the Chronicles of Arkham Plaques.

Trivia

 * On taking over the administration of Arkham Asylum, Quincy Sharp became obsessed with the hidden writings of Amadeus Arkham. As he read more of these memoirs, Sharp became almost two people: one who was dedicated to curing Gotham, and the other who desired only to eradicate the evil of insanity from Arkham. That second personality became known as the Spirit of Arkham. Though it was later revealed that the second personality was actually the result of a powerful medication given to Sharp by Hugo Strange.
 * The circles in his cell in Arkham Asylum were similar to the circles that Azrael left as clues in Batman: Arkham City.
 * Based on the carved symbols and writing, it is possible Amadeus's former cell was used by the Joker to torture the kidnapped Jason Todd.