Arthur Conan Doyle was born on 22 May 1859 in Edinburgh into a

prosperous Irish family. He trained as a doctor, gaining his degree

from Edinburgh University in 1881. He worked as a surgeon on a
whaling boat and also as a medical officer on a steamer travelling
between Liverpool and West Africa.

Basics, His Name

Doyle is often referred to as "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle" or "Conan
Doyle", implying that "Conan" is part of a compound surname rather than a
middle name. His baptism entry in the register of St Mary's Cathedral,
Edinburgh, gives "Arthur Ignatius Conan" as his given names and "Doyle" as
his surname. It also names Michael Conan as his godfather. The catalogues
of the British Library and the Library of Congress treat "Doyle" alone as his
surname.
Sherlock Holmes statue in Edinburgh, erected opposite the birthplace of Doyle
 Personal Life
In 1885, while still struggling to make it as a writer, Doyle met and married his
first wife, Louisa Hawkins. The couple moved to Upper Wimpole Street and
had two children, a daughter and a son. In 1893, Louisa was diagnosed with
tuberculosis. While Louisa was ailing, Doyle developed an affection for a
young woman named Jean Leckie. Louisa ultimately died of tuberculosis in
Doyle's arms, in 1906. The following year, Doyle would remarry to Jean
Leckie, with whom he would have two sons and a daughter.
Doyle with his family 1923-1925

Doyle’s house in South Norwood

Medical Education and Career

When Doyle graduated from Stonyhurst College in 1876, his parents expected
that he would follow in his family's footsteps and study art, so they were
surprised when he decided to pursue a medical degree at the University of
Edinburgh instead. At med school, Doyle met his mentor, Professor Dr.
Joseph Bell, whose keen powers of observation would later inspire Doyle to
create his famed fictional detective character, Sherlock Holmes

Political Campaigning
Doyle served as a volunteer physician in the Langman Field Hospital
at Bloemfontein between March and June 1900, during the Second Boer
War in South Africa (1899–1902). Later that year, he wrote a book on the
war, The Great Boer War, as well as a short work titled The War in South
Africa: Its Cause and Conduct, in which he responded to critics of the United
Kingdom's role in that war, and argued that its role was justified. The latter
work was widely translated, and Doyle believed it was the reason he
was knighted (given the rank of Knight Bachelor) by King Edward VII in
the 1902 Coronation Honours. (He received the accolade from the King in
person at Buckingham Palace on 24 October of that year.)
He stood for Parliament twice as a Liberal Unionist: in 1900 in Edinburgh
Central; and in 1906 in the Hawick Burghs. He received a respectable share
of the vote, but was not elected. He served as a Deputy-Lieutenant
of Surrey beginning in 1902, and was appointed a Knight of Grace of
the Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem in 1903.
Doyle was a supporter of the campaign for the reform of the Congo Free
State that was led by the journalist E. D. Morel and diplomat Roger
Casement. In 1909 he wrote The Crime of the Congo, a long pamphlet in
which he denounced the horrors of that colony. He became acquainted with
Morel and Casement, and it is possible that, together with Bertram Fletcher
Robinson, they inspired several characters that appear in his 1912 novel The
Lost World. Later, after the Easter Rising, Casement was found guilty
of treason against the Crown, and was sentenced to death. Doyle tried,
unsuccessfully, to save him, arguing that Casement had been driven mad,
and therefore should not be held responsible for his actions.
As the First World War loomed, and having been caught up in a growing
public swell of Germanophobia, Doyle gave a public donation of 10 shillings to
the anti-immigration British Brothers' League
Sherlock Holmes
When Arthur Conan Doyle came back, he started his medical practice in a small English
town Southsea. Being a private doctor, he often had nothing to do as the patients were
very rare. One day he was very bored. He tried to amuse himself and started reading a
detective story, but it didn’t help. The story was too boring. The simple plot and silly
detective made him annoyed. What is more, the detective didn’t investigate the murder at
all, the crime was solved by chance. He was deep in thought. What can make a detective
story interesting? It dawned on him. What if readers knew the clues, they would be able to
follow the logic a detective, racking their brains. If you remember, A. Conan Doyle had a lot
of practical knowledge. He also had some experience of work with poisons. He dealt with
dead people and knew some strange cases. Having a talent of story-telling, which he
inherited from his mother, he decided to try writing a detective story. He was clever enough
to create Sherlock Holmes who was the prototype of his favourite college professor. That
professor, called Bell, could seize the patient’s illness by just looking at them. Sherlock
Holmes had an assistant, Dr. Watson, who was not so clever. He often asked questions
and made guesses, thereby helping readers make their own investigation. Sherlock
Holmes used the method of deduction and liked to explain his every step in his pursuit of a
criminal. It was a new way of writing a detective story.
 Sherlock Holmes And Doctor
Watson by Roger Payne

221B Baker Street

From what we have said about a man of Scottish
culture – A. Conan Doyle, recognized and appreciated
worldwide, it would be incoherent to deny the beauty
of Scottish culture. A culture that combines all the
beautiful aspects that a person can enjoy. In this
context, I offer the floor to my colleague Adrian Șalari
to communicate more about the specifics of this
culture.