The bowler hat, also known as a coke hat, derby (US), billycock or bombin, is a hard felt

Felt

Felt is a non-woven cloth that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing woollen fibres. While some types of felt are very soft, some are tough enough to form construction materials. Felt can be of any colour, and made into any shape or size....

 hat

Hat

A hat is a head covering. It can be worn for protection against the elements, for ceremonial or religious reasons, for safety, or as a fashion accessory. In the past, hats were an indicator of social status...

 with a rounded crown originally created in 1849 for the English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 soldier and politician Edward Coke

Edward Coke (1824–1889)

The Hon. Edward Keppel Wentworth Coke was a British soldier and Whig politician.-Background:Coke was the second son of Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester, by his second wife Lady Anne Amelia, daughter of William Keppel, 4th Earl of Albemarle. Thomas Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester was his elder...

, the younger brother of the 2nd Earl of Leicester

Thomas Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester

Thomas William Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester KG , known as Viscount Coke from 1837 to 1842, was a British peer....

. The bowler hat was popular with the working class

Working class

Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...

 during the Victorian era

Victorian era

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

 though it came to form the official work uniform of bankers. Later in England, it would come to be worn as work dress by the officers of the Queen's Guards.
The bowler hat was devised in 1849 by the London hatmakers Thomas and William Bowler to fulfil an order placed by the firm of hatters Lock & Co.