Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan. The grandson of John Doyle, the famous political caricaturist, "H.B.," was born in Edinburgh in 1859. Doyle was educated at Stonyhurst and in Germany. In 1876 he commenced to study medicine at the Edinburgh University, and remained there for five years. From 1882 until 1890, Doyle practiced his profession at Southsea, writing all the while various short stories, some of which have been since published under the title of "The Captain of the Polestar." After "A Study in Scarlet," "Micah Clarke," and "The Sign of Four," came "The White Company," which led to the final abandonment of medicine for literature. "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" and "The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes" formed a brilliant series of detective stories. In 1894, he wrote a short play, "A Story of Waterloo," successfully produced by Sir Henry Irving; "The Exploits of Brigadier Gerard" and "Rodney Stone" in 1896; "Uncle Bernac" in 1897; "The Tragedy of the Korosko," a volume of poems ("Songs of Action") in 1898; "A Duet" in 1899; "The Hound of the Baskervilles" in 1902; "The Adventures of Gerard" in 1903; "Return of Sherlock Holmes" in 1904; "Sir Nigel" in 1906; and "Through the Magic Door" in 1907. He volunteered for service in the Transvaal War and, in 1900, gave his medical services for some months in the hospitals there, afterwards publishing a history of the war, entitled, "The Great Boer War." Knighted June 26, 1902.

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