Arthur Conan Doyle Biography

Fast Facts

• In return for his work on the book "The War in South Africa: The Cause and its Conduct," he was made a Knight Bachelor on the 1902 King's Honours List
• In July 1902, he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of Surrey
• Studied in Lancashire, England, at Stonyhurst College, a renowned Jesuit institution
• Worked as an optometrist before beginning to write Sherlock Holmes; he began writing because his practice was failing
• Doyle worked at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary for a time as a clerk under Dr․ Joseph Bell
• Quote: "Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself; but talent instantly recognizes genius․"
• Quote: "Singularity is almost invariably a clue․ The more featureless and commonplace a crime is, the more difficult is it to bring it home․"
• Based his Sherlock Holmes character off a University of Edinburgh professor, Dr․ Joseph Bell, who stressed the importance observations hold in diagnosis, often showing this to students by deducing patient's jobs and lifestyle through observations
• His famous character detective Sherlock Holmes is the most portrayed fictional character in cinema
• After his son died in battle, Doyle became an advocate against war
• Doyle was a spiritualist who was ridiculed for bringing a message to magician Harry Houdini from Houdini's mother, though the message was in English, which she never understood
• Almost turned down knighthood from Queen Victoria because he thought she was trying to honor him solely for his Sherlock Holmes stories