On this date in 1854 Sherlock Holmes was born.
One of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous characters, Sherlock Holmes was a “London-based consulting detective whose abilities border on the fantastic.” Mr. Holmes was famous for his logic, reasoning, and forensic science skills.
All but four of the Sherlock Holmes stories were narrated by Dr. John Watson; of the four that weren’t, two were narrated by Holmes, and two were written in the third person.
From Wikipedia:
Sir Doyle has said that the character of Sherlock Holmes was inspired by Dr. Joseph Bell, for whom Doyle had worked as a clerk at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. Like Holmes, Bell was noted for drawing large conclusions from the smallest observations. However, some years later Bell wrote in a letter to Conan Doyle: “You are yourself Sherlock Holmes and well you know it.” Sir Henry Littlejohn, lecturer on Forensic Medicine and Public Health at the Royal College of Surgeons, is also cited as an inspiration 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.