Definition of Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur

Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur: (1859-1930) British physician, better known as the writer who created Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Educated at the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh, Scotland, Conan Doyle received a medical degree in 1881, served as a physician in the Boer War (1899-1902), and practiced medicine in Southsea, England. The character of Holmes was based on one of his medical school professors in Edinburgh, Dr. Joseph Bell, who had remarkable powers of observation and deduction, through which he was able to diagnose diseases with almost unerring accuracy. It was these same abilities, turned to crime, that later produced Sherlock Holmes. Conan Doyle left his medical practice in 1890 and devoted his time to writing.