Arthur Conan Doyle was born on May 22, 1859 in Edinburgh, Scotland as Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle. He was a writer and producer, known for 大侦探福尔摩斯 (2009), Sherlock (2010) and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1984). He was married to Jean Leckie and Louisa Hawkins. He died on July 7, 1930 in Crowborough, Sussex [now East Sussex], England.
He was created a Knight Bachelor in the 1902 King's Honours List, apparently for his services on the publication of the book, "The War in South Africa: The Cause and it's Conduct.". In July of that year he had been appointed Deputy Lieutenant of Surrey.
Born at 4:55 a.m. or 5:08 a.m. LMT.
Brother-in-law of E.W. Hornung.
He very nearly refused a knighthood from Queen Victoria (for a book he had written on the Boer War) because he was convinced that he was being honored for his Sherlock Holmes stories.
The day he finished the "final" Holmes story, "The Final Problem," his diary entry was pretty succinct: "Killed Holmes."
In addition to writing detective stories, Doyle proved to be a capable amateur detective himself. One of his cases in which he proved a convicted person to be innocent led to the British system for appealing criminal cases.
Became a fervent anti-war activist after his son Kingsley, a British soldier, died of wounds received in the Battle of the Somme in World War I.
Was a spiritualist who was ridiculed for bringing a message to 哈里·胡迪尼 from Houdini's mother. The message was in English, a language she never knew.
Attended Stonyhurst College, a renowned Jesuit institution in Lancashire, England.
His most famous creation, the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, is the most portrayed fictional character in movies.
Biography/bibliography in: "Contemporary Authors". New Revision Series, Vol. 131, pages 104-123. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2005.
Was an accomplished sportsman who played cricket for the Marylebone Cricket Club in London, and also was a founder and first goal keeper for his local football team, Portsmouth F.C., while living in Portsmouth. He played as either goalkeeper or right-back between 1884-90, initially under the pseudonym A.C. Smith.
Was on the same cricket team as "Peter Pan" author J.M. Barrie.
Father of Adrian Conan Doyle and Jean Conan Doyle.
Was an ophthalmologist, started writing Sherlock Holmes because his practice was not doing well.
Only used Sherlock Holmes' nemesis, Prof. Moriarty, in one short story.
The public furor over the death of Holmes in "The Final Problem" was tremendous, and "The Strand" magazine (in which the Holmes stories were published) was besieged by mobs demanding the return of Sherlock Holmes. Doyle was tired of writing about Holmes, and wanted to get back to writing historical fiction. "The Strand" actually had to bribe Doyle with the equivalent of $1 million for each Sherlock Holmes short story. This was more than any writer had ever been paid up to that time.
Although widely remembered as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Doyle also wrote several notable historical fiction novels. He actually preferred writing these kinds of books over mysteries.
Had a reputation among his friends as a practical joker, and is considered by historians as the most likely person responsible for the infamous Piltdown Man fossil hoax.
After his death an unfinished Sherlock Holmes story was found among his papers. It dealt with a murderer who used stilts to commit his crime. Author G.K. Chesterton later used the idea successfully, although he conceived it independently of Doyle.
Said that the character of Sherlock Holmes was inspired by Dr. Joseph Bell, for whom Doyle had worked as a clerk at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. Like Holmes, Bell was noted for drawing major conclusions from the smallest observations (in one case he deduced a man's recent discharge from military service from the way he removed his hat; and the location of his service from the nature of his medical complaint). Sir Henry Littlejohn, lecturer on Forensic Medicine and Public Health at the Royal College of Surgeons, is also cited as a source for Holmes. Littlejohn served as Police Surgeon and Medical Officer of Health of Edinburgh, providing for Doyle a link between medical investigation and the detection of crime.
Was of Irish descent on both his parents' sides.
For many years a story circulated that he was a Track and Field official at the 1908 Summer Olympic Games in London and was one of the officials who helped drag Italian marathoner Dorando Pietri across the finish line, causing him to be disqualified from winning the Gold Medal in favor of American Johnny Hayes. That proved not to be true, but he did write a special report on the 1908 Olympic Marathon race.
Published a newspaper article in which he expressed a belief that Harry Houdini accomplished his illusions by disintegrating. 哈里·胡迪尼 responded in anger that he did not disintegrate anything.
Lived in Birmingham (UK) from 1878-81.
After the deaths of several of his loved ones, Doyle became a devout believer in spiritualism and made his rationalist character, Prof. Challenger, follow the same route. His friend 哈里·胡迪尼 unsuccessfully tried to show him spiritualism was phony by debunking spirit mediums, but to no avail. Doyle instead started to believe that Houdini himself had psychic powers, which he used to "disrupt" others, and perform some of his most hard-to-figure-out magic tricks.
When Alan Arnold wrote the novelization for 少年福尔摩斯 (1985), he wrote, "Although there have been many so-called Sherlock Holmes 'pastiches', no-one can make the attempt without devoting study to Sir Arthur Conan's stories. In doing so one gains a respect for them and their creator which is quite profound. I cannot adequately describe their ability to suspend one's disbelief; it is a form of magic. They are myths which linger in the consciousness. They are for handing on to new generations who inevitably become, in turn, devotees. If this narrative is held to have integrity, it will encourage the process. That thought was in the minds of the men who made the film. Along with the actors, they all respected the creator of Sherlock Holmes. I drew on other sources. Although in my youth I lived in Cairo, I was not then sufficiently mature to appreciate its wonders or to learn much about its incomparable history. My feeling throughout has been one of the deepest respect for the writings of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, for the creator as much as for his creations. I share with the purists an admiration for Holmes's qualities. One that is sometimes overlooked is that he was a Victorian and Edwardian gentleman. 'We live in a utilitarian age', he once told Watson. 'Chivalry is a Mediaeval conception'. But, then, he was as much the great detective as he was the Mediaeval knight. That is how I think of him".
