Arthur Conan Doyle was born on 22 May 1859 in Edinburgh. A British writer and physician born in Edinburgh, Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes, the consulting detective who first appeared in A Study in Scarlet in 1887. The character, partly inspired by one of his medical professors, proved so popular that he wrote dozens of stories and novels, including The Hound of the Baskervilles. In 1893 he killed Holmes off at the Reichenbach Falls, but public demand forced him to bring him back. He also wrote historical novels and the science-fiction adventure The Lost World, served as a doctor in the Boer War and was knighted in 1902. In his later years he became a committed advocate of spiritualism.
Before and after
- 19 February 1859Birth of Svante August Arrhenius
- 8 April 1859Birth of Edmund Husserl
- from 27 April 1859 to 11 July 1859Second Italian War of Independence
- 6 May 1859Death of Alexander von Humboldt
- 22 May 1859Birth of Arthur Conan Doyle
- 24 June 1859The Battle of Solferino inspires the Red Cross
- 4 August 1859Birth of Knut Hamsun
- 27 August 1859Edwin Drake drills the first commercial oil well
- 1 September 1859The Carrington solar storm
More in Science & technology
- 1789Discovery of uranium
- 1807Discovery of potassium
- 30 June 1808Discovery of boron
- 1810Discovery of fluorine
- 1823Discovery of silicon
- 1898Discovery of neon
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.