Who created Sherlock Holmes?
Sherlock Holmes was created by Scottish author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The detective first appeared in the novel A Study in Scarlet in 1887.
Conan Doyle was a doctor as well as a writer. He partly based Holmes's sharp powers of observation on Joseph Bell, one of his teachers at the University of Edinburgh medical school, who could guess details about patients from small clues. Holmes lives at 221B Baker Street in London with his friend Dr. John Watson, who narrates most of the stories.
Conan Doyle wrote four novels and 56 short stories about Holmes, many published in The Strand Magazine. Famous works include The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Sign of Four. In 1893, tired of the character, he killed Holmes off at the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland, but public demand led him to bring the detective back.
A lasting legend
Holmes has appeared in more films and TV shows than almost any other fictional character, played by actors including Basil Rathbone, Jeremy Brett, Robert Downey Jr. and Benedict Cumberbatch. His archenemy is Professor Moriarty.
Did You Know?
The famous phrase Elementary, my dear Watson never appears in Conan Doyle's original stories. It became popular through later films.