Question: When was the Thinker originally begun?
About the article "The Thinker", section "Origins".

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Originally named "The Poet" (""), the "Thinker" was initially a figure in a large commission, begun in 1880, for a doorway surround called "The Gates of Hell".
Rodin based this on "The Divine Comedy" of Dante, and most of the many figures in the work represented the main characters in the epic poem.
Some critics believe "The Thinker", at the centre of the composition over the doorway and at about 70 cm high larger than most other figures, was originally intended to depict Dante at the Gates of Hell, pondering his great poem.
However, there are questionable aspects to this interpretation, including that the figure is naked, Dante is fully clothed throughout his poem, and that the figure, as used, in no way corresponds to Dante's effete figure.
The sculpture is nude, as Rodin wanted a heroic figure in the tradition of Michelangelo, to represent intellect as well as poetry.
This detail from the "Gates of Hell" was first named "The Thinker" by foundry workers, who noted its similarity to Michelangelo's statue of Lorenzo de Medici called """" (The Thinker).
Rodin decided to treat the figure as an independent work, at a larger size.
The figure was designed to be seen from below, and is normally displayed on a fairly high plinth, though the heights chosen by the various owners for these vary considerably.
The professional criminal mastermind known as the Mad Thinker made his debut fighting the Fantastic Four.
He once attempted to take over New York City using the Baxter Building as his base and all organized crime members as his lieutenants.
The Fantastic Four were lured away from New York just before a meteorite struck the city and briefly knocked out electrical power, including the Baxter Building's defense systems.
The Mad Thinker took the opportunity to create a robotic servant, the Awesome Android.
He trapped the Fantastic Four in the lower quarters of the building but was eventually caught, after being stopped by an unforeseen factor: the building's mailman, Willie Lumpkin, who on Reed's orders rang a bell at 4 pm, activating a circuit breaker Reed had built into all his devices.
It seemed that his primary objective had not really been to take over the city but to manipulate organized crime into helping him get into the Baxter building so that he could indulge his intellectual avarice by stealing the technology of Reed Richards.
In that sense, the Fantastic Four did not really defeat him, they only defeated his pretext.
The Mad Thinker would gladly get sent to prison for a peek at the secrets of what he considered the greatest mind in the world.
Prisons don't do well to hold the Mad Thinker and he escapes from all levels of incarceration with little difficulty.
Often he doesn't even bother escaping, but simply transmits his thoughts into a robot body at one of his secret bases.
He can not only do his work, but he has the perfect alibi—he's already in prison.
After his initial defeat against the Fantastic Four, the Mad Thinker teamed with the Puppet Master for the first time.
He used the original X-Men through a mind-controlled Professor X to battle the Fantastic Four.
Again with the Puppet Master, he pitted the Thing against the Human Torch, but was foiled by Reed Richards.
Later he created a radio-controlled bouncing ball with which he tried to eliminate the Thing and Torch while they were at a new dam's opening and nearly brought down the ball, but the Torch was able to destroy it.
He then created Quasimodo, a "living" computer.
He located and revived the original Human Torch and used him to battle the present-day Torch.
Later, with his Triumvirate of Terror (consisting of Piledriver, Hammerhead, and Thunderboot), he captured the Avengers, and invaded Avengers Mansion, believing that he had successfully overcome them by remembering to take advantage of the human element of his enemies' personalities that he had forgotten in the past, but he was nevertheless foiled by the unexpected intervention of Hercules, who had only recently begun to stay with the Avengers following his exile from Olympus.
The Mad Thinker impersonated Dr. Jose Santini, and disrupted an attempt to cure the Thing, causing the Thing to turn against the Fantastic Four.
However, the Mad Thinker was captured by Mister Fantastic and the Human Torch.
From his prison cell, he sent a battle android called the Monster Android against the Fantastic Four, but the android was sent into the Negative Zone by Mister Fantastic.
He allied with the Puppet Master again and with Egghead in their attempted blackmail of the United States government using a laser-firing satellite and a giant android called "Gargan-Droid."
Again with the Puppet Master, he attacked the Fantastic Four using androids of their past foes.
With the Puppet Master, he then battled Spider-Man and the Thing.
The Mad Thinker then took part in the Black Lama's contest of super-villains, but was defeated by Iron Man.
Mad Thinker then re-established control of his robot the Scavenger and sent it against the Fantastic Four.
He was defeated by Thundra, Tigra, and Brute.
He then battled the Thing, Daredevil, Vision, and Yellowjacket.
With the Puppet Master and Wizard, he attempted to disrupt the wedding of the Human Torch and Alicia Masters.
The Mad Thinker later took control of the computers in Fantastic Four headquarters, but was foiled by Mister Fantastic.
Mad Thinker constructed android duplicates of his favorite thinkers in order to populate his own town called "Ponder" and had one of his robots bring Captain America to that town.
Most of them were destroyed by Team America and Mad Thinker was arrested by S.H.I.E.L.D.
The Mad Thinker later refused involvement in Loki's "Acts of Vengeance."
He instead escaped prison, and sent Gargantua against Wonder Man and the Wasp in an attempt to forestall the proposed Super-Powers Registration Act.
Later, he attempted a robbery using robot dinosaurs, and was foiled by Destroyer and Tattletale of Power Pack.
The Mad Thinker became interested in the young super-group called the New Warriors, and posed them a riddle when they first formed.
In the final issue of the series, the answer to the riddle was revealed: the Mad Thinker's nephew had accidentally gained uncontrollable superpowers from his lab, killing his mother in the process.
Now, the Thinker wanted them to help him.
Presumably they did so using the Neo-neutralizer they acquired in that adventure.
Since then, the Mad Thinker has been seen battling She-Hulk in a prison escape attempt.
However, this Mad Thinker was revealed to be merely yet another android duplicate of the real Mad Thinker.
Following the destruction of this android, the Awesome Android (now calling itself Awesome Andy) took custody of the android's still-functional head until it was stolen by the teenage supervillain Southpaw.
Although willing to kill heroes who get in his way, there are lines the Mad Thinker will not cross.
A partnership with the Wizard was cut short after the kidnapping of the child Franklin Richards.
The Wizard wished to experiment upon Franklin and learn the secret of his vast powers.
The Mad Thinker, however, claimed that this had an almost certain probability of Franklin's death.
When the Wizard acknowledged this but decided to continue anyway, an angry Thinker dissolved the partnership and helped lead Franklin's godfather, The Thing, to where the Wizard had the boy hostage.
The Mad Thinker then allies himself with the Puppet Master, planning to strike against the Fantastic Four yet again.
Told that he preferred to be called "The Thinker", The Puppet Master asked him why he had been called "The Mad Thinker" in the past.
The reply was that he used to have "repressed anger issues".
When the Puppet Master asks him about his anger, he replies that "it isn't repressed any more."
He has built a device to amplify the Puppet Master's power so that they can escalate a battle between the two rival factions in the Super Hero Civil War.
In exchange for not being connected to the crimes on Yancy Street, Reed has the Mad Thinker double-check his calculations concerning the potential effects of not supporting the registration of all superheroes.
Mad Thinker, along with Awesome Android, later appear as members of the Intelligencia.
Mad Thinker even created the Gammadroid which he used to help MODOK and Hulk Robot capture Red Hulk.
During a conflict between the Intelligencia and the Sinister Six as a prelude to the "Ends of the Earth" storyline, Mad Thinker was able to briefly deactivate Electro's powers, but was caught off-guard when Electro physically attacked him instead, the surprise of the attack allowing Electro to defeat him.
He was presumably killed when Doctor Octopus used the Zero Cannon to launch him into space.
MODOK Superior vows to find a way to restore his fellow Intelligencia members.MODOK Superior was able to revive Mad Thinker and the other Intelligencia members where they began to formulate their plans after their predicted shatter of the superhero community. 
The villain Mad Thinker creates an artificial lifeform based on the research notes of Fantastic Four leader Mister Fantastic.
A synthesis of ape DNA and unstable molecules incorporated into an almost indestructible body with a microcomputer and a solar-power source, the newly christened "Awesome Android" is directed against the Fantastic Four, although the superhero team defeats both the Android and the Thinker.
The Awesome Android, still as a pawn of the Thinker, returns to battle the combined efforts of the Fantastic Four and the mutant team the X-Men before being deactivated by X-Men leader Professor X.
The Thinker directs the Android to kidnap industrialist Tony Stark, which eventually leads to a battle with Stark's alter ego Iron Man.
After an appearance during the "War of the Super Villains" storyline the Android is absent from Marvel continuity until directed by the Thinker to capture the Galadorian spaceknight "Rom" for further study.
After a brief battle, Rom successfully deactivates the Android.
The Android battles "Captain America", having been repaired by then abandoned by the Thinker.
Fellow artificial creation the Super Adaptoid, posing as villain the Fixer, reprograms the Android and uses it as part of an assault team of advanced robots called Heavy Metal, consisting of the Awesome Android; Machine Man; the Sentry 459, and TESS-One.
The group is eventually defeated by the superhero team the "Avengers" with "Namor the Sub-Mariner" deactivating the Android.
The Android reappears during the "Acts of Vengeance" storyline, being repaired by the robot Machinesmith and used to distract the Avengers while several villains escape confinement in the prison facility the Vault.
The Android is neutralized by Captain Marvel.
After battles with the superhero teams the "Thunderbolts", and the "Heroes for Hire", and two more encounters with the Fantastic Four, the Android is reclaimed by the Thinker.
The Thinker upgrades the Android to absorb additional abilities, such as musical talent and animal traits.
Acquiring sentience, the Android rebels against the Thinker and seeks legal aid from law firm Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzberg & Holliway (the firm that employs Jennifer Walters, the alter ego of heroine She-Hulk).
The Android is legally emancipated from the Thinker, with a court recognizing the being as a male with a new name, "Awesome Andy."
Andy becomes a general office worker for the firm; lacking speech, he communicates via hand-gestures, body language, and a message board around his neck.
The board, originally depicted as a chalk board, was retconned into a digital display screen with a Wi-Fi connection to his CPU.
After a brief fight with a member of the Eternals, Starfox, Andy inadvertently absorbs Starfox's pheromone-like abilities, causing Andy to gain the affections of his coworker Mallory Book.
Upon realizing she does not actually reciprocate these feelings, the character deactivates his powers, and, after being rejected by her, leaves the law firm.
Andy reappears as the Awesome Android in the employ of the Thinker, having reset its system with no trace of the previous personality.
The Android also encounters the parallel universe team the "Exiles".
Awesome Android was with Mad Thinker when it was revealed that Mad Thinker was a member of Intelligencia.
Awesome Android was with Mad Thinker when he is invited to join the Future Foundation's seminar on how to defeat Reed Richards with the Reed Richards in mind being the Council of Reeds.
Awesome Android was present with Intelligencia when they are attacked by the Sinister Six.
He was shot into space by the Zero Cannon.MODOK Superior was able to revive Awesome Android and the other Intelligencia members. 
The Big Thinker is the twelfth episode of the second series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series "The Avengers", starring Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman.
It originally aired on ABC on 15 December 1962.
The episode was directed by Kim Mills and written by Martin Woodhouse. 
The Chinese Elm "Ulmus parvifolia" cultivar 'The Thinker' was selected by M. Hayman from a tree on the campus of the University of Louisville, Kentucky.