Sherlock Holmes

7th August 1852 - Estimated birthday of Doctor John H. Watson

1853-56 - The Crimean War

The conflict in which England, France and Turkey fought Russia. The Hon. Philip Green's father commanded the Sea of Avov fleet during the war (The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax), and Colonel Emsworth earned the Victoria Cross there (The Blanched Soldier). The barque Gloria Scott was used to transport convicts to Australia because the usual convict vessels were being used to transport troops to Crimea.

23rd July 1853 - William Hooker Gillette was born today, he was the youngest of six children and became the actor famous for his portrayals of Sherlock Holmes

23rd April 1853 - Birth of Alphonse Bertillon, the French criminologist (1853-13th February 1914). He developed the Bertillon system, called the Bertillonage, for the swift identification of criminals. The system used various measurements of the body with extensive files of descriptions and photos. While superseded from around 1900 by fingerprinting, Bertillon won Holmes’s admiration (The Naval Treaty) and his jealousy (The Hound of the Baskervilles), due to the French savant’s wide reputation.

6th January 1854 - Birth of William (or Thomas) Sherlock Scott Holmes . It is not known where he was born, although many supporters favour North Yorkshire, partly because of a house called "Mycroft", near Sigerside, located on the moors. Another possibility is Derbyshire, because of the presence of a branch of the Holmes family living in the vicinity of the Duke of Holdernesse (The Priory School)

8th October 1855 - Sailing of the Gloria Scott

6th November 1855 - Explosion of Gloria Scott

1857 - The Murder of Achmet, a merchant, the servant of a rajah in Northern India and the bearer of the Agra Treasure in The Sign of the Four. He was described as a 'little, fat, round fellow'. Achmet was murdered by the men of 'The Four' for the treasure he carried.

7th September 1858 - Birth of Irene Adler at Trenton, New Jersey

1858 - Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein grand duke of Cassel-Felstein, hereditary king of Bohemia

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

1855 - At the age of nineteen Charles Doyle got a job in the Government Office of Works at Edinburgh, where he married Mary Foley (17), also of Irish parentage. A picture by Charles Doyle - Enjoying the Ice: A Curling Match on Doddington Loch - was sold at the 10th World of Drawing and Water-colour Fair for £24,000.

1858 - Charles and Mary Doyle's second child Catherine dies in infancy. Annette their first child died as a young woman.

22nd May 1859 - Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was born at Picardy Place, Edinburgh. The family was a large one - Arthur was one of ten Doyle children, seven of whom survived to maturity - and life was difficult for his mother who struggled to bring up her children on the income of some £240 a year provided by her husband,

Charles, who pursued as unambitious life as a civil servant. Charles Altamont Doyle was the youngest son of John Doyle, the caricaturist “H.B.” His brothers had all made something of a name for themselves: James Doyle wrote The Chronicles of England; Henry Doyle became the manager of the National Gallery in Dublin; and Richard Doyle became the famous for his cover design for Punch.