Calendario literario

      Tal día como hoy, hace 154 años, nacía     
      Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 de mayo de 1859, Edimburgo - 7 de julio de 1930, Crowborough ) fue un médico y escritor escocés, creador del célebre detective de ficción Sherlock Holmes. Fue un autor prolífico cuya obra incluye relatos de ciencia ficción, novela histórica, teatro y poesía.

          En 1876, comenzó la carrera de medicina en la Universidad de Edimburgo, donde conoció al profesor que le inspiraría la figura del más famoso de sus personajes, Sherlock Holmes, el médico forense Joseph Bell. Allí destacó en los deportes, especialmente rugby, golf y boxeo.

          A principios de 1880 se embarcó para ejercer como cirujano en sustitución de un amigo suyo, en un ballenero denominado The Hope que durante seis meses navegaría hacia el Ártico. A los 22 años (1881) se graduó cómo médico; sin embargo, recibió el doctorado cuatro años después. Fue en estos años cuando hizo una gran amistad con el también escritor escocés J. M. Barrie.

          Murió el 7 de julio de 1930, con 71 años, de un ataque al corazón, en Crowborough, East Sussex (Inglaterra). Una estatua suya se encuentra en esa localidad donde residió durante 23 años.

          Fue enterrado en el cementerio de la iglesia de Minstead en New Forest, Hampshire.

Historias de Sherlock Holmes

 Estudio en escarlata(A Study in Scarlet, novela, 1887).

El signo de los cuatro (The Sign of Four, novela, 1890).

Las aventuras de Sherlock Holmes (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, 1891 -92).

Las memorias de Sherlock Holmes (The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, 1892-93).

El sabueso de los Baskerville (The Hound of the Baskervilles, novela, 1901-02).

El regreso de Sherlock Holmes (The Return of Sherlock Holmes, 1903-04).

El valle del terror (The Valley of Fear, novela, 1914-15).

Su última reverencia (His Last Bow, 1908-17).

El archivo de Sherlock Holmes (The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes, 1924-26).

          Arthur Conan Doyle was born the third of ten siblings on 22 May 1859 in Edinburgh, Scotland. His father, Charles Altamont Doyle, was born in England of Irish descent, and his mother, born Mary Foley, was Irish. They were married in 1855.

                                                                                

         Although he is now referred to as "Conan Doyle", the origin of this compound surname (if that is how he meant it to be understood) is uncertain. His baptism record in the registry of St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh gives 'Arthur Ignatius Conan' as his Christian name, and simply 'Doyle' as his surname. It also names Michael Conan as his godfather.

At the age of nine Conan Doyle was sent to the Roman Catholic Jesuit preparatory school, Hodder Place, Stonyhurst. He then went on to Stonyhurst College, leaving in 1875.

From 1876 to 1881 he studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh. This required that he provide periodic medical assistance in the towns of Aston (now a district of Birmingham) and Sheffield. While studying, Conan Doyle began writing short stories. His first published story appeared in "Chambers's Edinburgh Journal" before he was 20. Following his graduation, he was employed as a ship's doctor on the SS Mayumba during a voyage to the West African coast. He completed his doctorate on the subject of tabes dorsalis in 1885.

          Conan Doyle was found clutching his chest in the hall of Windlesham, his house in Crowborough, East Sussex, on 7 July 1930. He had died of a heart attack at age 71. His last words were directed toward his wife: "You are wonderful." The epitaph on his gravestone in the churchyard at Minstead in the New Forest, Hampshire, reads:

STEEL TRUE
BLADE STRAIGHT
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
KNIGHT
PATRIOT, PHYSICIAN & MAN OF LETTERS