Does the name “Sherlock Holmes” rings a bell? Well, who isn’t familiar with the famous fictional detective. And May 22 is the day, Arthur Conan Doyle, the man who brought the iconic detective from 22B Baker Street live, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Ever since the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes on print, he is described as an intellectual who has a knack for stating the obvious. And even though we all are pretty familiar with the character, thanks to the movies and TV shows based on the novel. There are still a few facts that are little known about him. So on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s 160th birth anniversary, we bring to you 5 lesser known facts about the famous fictional detective.
First literary character to be brought back to life:
Sherlock Holmes became the first literary character to be brought back to life when he became alive in “The Adventure of the Empty House”. The years 1891 to 1894 are considered the “great hiatus” years. It was in these years within the novels where Holmes disappears and then is presumed dead having fallen off a waterfall with his arch nemesis Prof. Moriarty after a violent struggle in the novel The Final Problem. In 1903, Conan Doyle wrote "The Adventure of the Empty House", set in 1894; Holmes reappears, explaining to a stunned Watson that he had faked his death to fool his enemies. "The Adventure of the Empty House" marks the beginning of the second set of stories, which Conan Doyle wrote until 1927.
Sherlock was earlier named Sherrinford:
The character was originally going to be called Sherrinford. Later the name was altered to the Sherlock because Sir Arthur Conon Doyle was a fan of cricket. The name “Sherlock” comes from a combination of the names of two cricketers: Mortdecai Sherwin and Joseph Shacklock.
Sherlock never wore the famous cap:
In the novels, Sherlock never wore the famous cap that we mostly associate him with. The idea of cap was inspired by the illustrations appearing in short stories of Strand magazine.
Most filmed human fictional character:
In 2012, Sherlock Holmes became the Guinness World record holder of “Most Portrayed Literary Human Character in Film& TV”. Even though there is a heavy dispute between Sherlock and Dracula because it has been filmed more than Sherlock at 239 times.
Holmes never said, ‘Elementary, my dear Watson’:
He did say ‘Elementary’ and ‘my dear Watson’ at various points. But it was never said in the same sentence.
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