Author. He was the creator of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, which has become one of the most famous fictional characters of all time. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, he began practicing medicine in 1882, but was not a great success. While waiting for patients, he started writing short stories as a hobby, but his early writings earned him only pocket money. His first great success came with his first Sherlock Holmes novel, "A Study in Scarlet" (1887). In Holmes, Doyle created a detective who used observation and logic to solve crimes, which Doyle had patterned after a real-life Scotland Yard detective. For this, Doyle is credited with creating the investigative detective. Sherlock Holmes would also appear in 56 short stories and three other novels, "The Sign of Four" (1890), "The Hound of the Baskervilles," (1902), and "The Valley of Fear" (1915). So popular did the Sherlock Holmes character become, that Doyle became one of the most highly-paid short-story writers in his time. When he killed off the Sherlock Holmes character in one of his stories in 1893, public demand and pressure from his publisher, the Strand Magazine, forced him to bring the character back to life three years later to continue the Sherlock Holmes Adventures. Doyle has also written numerous historical novels, other adventure tales, romances, and plays, including a series of short stories and novels featuring a fictional Professor Challenger, which have been turned into movies and television series. During the later decades of his life, he abandoned writing fiction to study and lecture on spiritualism, the communication with the souls of the dead, a topic that interested the general public in the 1920s.

Author. He was the creator of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, which has become one of the most famous fictional characters of all time. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, he began practicing medicine in 1882, but was not a great success. While waiting for patients, he started writing short stories as a hobby, but his early writings earned him only pocket money. His first great success came with his first Sherlock Holmes novel, "A Study in Scarlet" (1887). In Holmes, Doyle created a detective who used observation and logic to solve crimes, which Doyle had patterned after a real-life Scotland Yard detective. For this, Doyle is credited with creating the investigative detective. Sherlock Holmes would also appear in 56 short stories and three other novels, "The Sign of Four" (1890), "The Hound of the Baskervilles," (1902), and "The Valley of Fear" (1915). So popular did the Sherlock Holmes character become, that Doyle became one of the most highly-paid short-story writers in his time. When he killed off the Sherlock Holmes character in one of his stories in 1893, public demand and pressure from his publisher, the Strand Magazine, forced him to bring the character back to life three years later to continue the Sherlock Holmes Adventures. Doyle has also written numerous historical novels, other adventure tales, romances, and plays, including a series of short stories and novels featuring a fictional Professor Challenger, which have been turned into movies and television series. During the later decades of his life, he abandoned writing fiction to study and lecture on spiritualism, the communication with the souls of the dead, a topic that interested the general public in the 1920s.

Bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson