[Ads-l] Further Antedating of "Mad Scientist"

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

The citation below was published after the excellent citation Fred
found. I think the "mad scientist" is depicted as "dangerous and evil"
but not "insane".

[Begin HDSF definition]
mad scientist n.
a scientist who is insane or eccentric, esp. so as to be dangerous or
evil: a stock figure of melodramatic horror stories
[End HDSF definition]

Date: May 15, 1875
Newspaper: Lewiston Evening Journal
Newspaper Location: Lewiston, Maine
Article: City and County
Quote Page 3, Column 2
Database: GenealogyBank

[Bein excerpt]
The orioles have come and the taxidermists are after them. Can't
science let these beautiful birds alone—at least those that make their
homes in the gardens of the city? Some mad scientist attempted to
shoot an oriole under the chamber window of one of our citizens, early
Saturday morning. The citizens expostulated, and the man of science
withdrew.
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Sun, Aug 2, 2026 at 3:45 PM Jonathan Lighter
<00001aad181a2549-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
>
> Not "mad" in the later nuance of "malevolently and dangerously insane."
>
> JL
>
> On Sun, Aug 2, 2026 at 3:30 PM Jesse Sheidlower <jester at panix.com> wrote:
> >
> > Thanks, Fred. Now added to HDSF.
> >
> > I note that the 1883 citation that had been the earliest in HDSF was also submitted by one Fred Shapiro.
> >
> > Jesse Sheidlower
> >
> > On Sun, Aug 02, 2026 at 05:31:04PM +0000, Shapiro, Fred wrote:
> > > mad scientist (OED 1893, Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction 1883)
> > >
> > > 1871 Daily Patriot (Washington, DC) 21 Aug. 2/3 (Newspapers.com)
> > >
> > > We find twenty mad scientists airing their crotchets of differential expansion, strength in weakness, and the like.  This is not testimony of experts at all, but vagary of eccentrics.
> > >
> > > Fred Shapiro
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
>
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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