UrbanNerd.com

Vital Stats

Birth
22 May 1859

Birthplace
Edinburgh, Scotland

Death
7 July 1930
(heart attack)

Best Known As
The creator of Sherlock Holmes

Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Scotland and studied medicine there, eventually serving as a physician in the Boer War (1899-1902). But his fame rests on his creation of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. Doyle published his first Holmes tale, A Study in Scarlet, in 1887. Over the following 40 years he published 56 short stories and four novels featuring Holmes and his sidekick, Dr. Watson. Late in life Doyle became closely interested in mysticism and wrote the 1926 book A History of Spiritualism.

Extra credit: Doyle was knighted in 1903 for his services to the crown, including his authorship of the 1902 pamphlet The War in South Africa… Doyle and Dr. Watson have much in common: both are medical doctors, both are writers, and both served in the British Army… According to his New York Times obituary, Doyle was married to the former Louise Hawkins from 1885 until her death in 1906. He was married again to the former Jean Leckie from 1907 until his own death in 1930. Doyle had two children with his first wife, three with his second.

Four Good Links:

Sherlock Holmes on the Web
Their section on Doyle has a great list of online resources

The Arthur Conan Doyle Society
A bit stuffy, but with a sturdy basic biography

Modern Spiritualism: A.C. Doyle
Pro-spiritualism history of Doyle’s beliefs

Conan Doyle Dead
Nifty New York Times reprint of its 1930 obituary