Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle was born on 22 May 1859 in Edinburgh, Scotland. He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh and began to write stories while he was a student. His first published story was "The Mystery of Sasassa Valley" in 1879. He also wrote articles for various medical journals. In 1882, he moved to Southsea, Portsmouth and set up a medical practice there. He continued to write in his spare time and in 1887 he introduced his most famous creation, Sherlock Holmes, in "A Study in Scarlet". The character was partly based on his former university teacher Joseph Bell, who had a remarkable talent for observation and deduction. Doyle wrote four novels and 56 short stories featuring the detective and his loyal friend Dr. Watson. The stories were immensely popular and made Doyle a wealthy and famous author. He also wrote other works of fiction, including historical novels such as "The White Company" and "Sir Nigel", science fiction stories such as "The Lost World" and "The Poison Belt", and fantasy stories such as "The Coming of the Fairies" and "The Maracot Deep". He also wrote plays, poetry, essays, biographies, memoirs, and non-fiction books on various topics such as spiritualism, war, crime, and history. He was a prolific and versatile writer who had a wide range of interests and passions. He was also a public figure who involved himself in many causes and controversies. He was a staunch advocate of justice and used his fame to help people who were wrongly convicted or oppressed. He campaigned for the reform of the Congo Free State, which was ruled by King Leopold II of Belgium with brutal exploitation and atrocities. He also supported the cause of Irish Home Rule and opposed anti-Semitism. He was a patriotic Briton who served as a volunteer doctor in the Second Boer War (1899-1902) and the First World War (1914-1918). He wrote several books about his war experiences and his views on military strategy and politics. He was knighted by King Edward VII in 1902 for his services to the Crown during the Boer War. He was also a spiritualist who believed in life after death and communication with the spirits of the dead. He became interested in this subject after the death of his first wife Louisa in 1906 and his son Kingsley in 1918. He wrote several books defending spiritualism and exposing frauds and hoaxes. He also travelled around the world to give lectures and demonstrations on spiritualism. He claimed to have witnessed many paranormal phenomena such as materializations, levitations, telepathy, clairvoyance, and ectoplasm. He was criticized by many people, including some of his friends and family, for his credulity and obsession with spiritualism. He died of a heart attack on 7 July 1930 at his home in Crowborough, Sussex, England. He was buried in the churchyard of Minstead in Hampshire. His last words were addressed to his wife Jean: "You are wonderful."