Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle was a Scottish writer born on 22 May 1859 and would go on to become famous as the creator of the detective Sherlock Holmes. 

He studied at the University of Edinburgh's Medical School where he achieved the Bachelor of Medicine and Master of Surgery qualifications. Whilst he was a medical student, Conan Doyle was profoundly captivated by the skill of his professor, Dr Joseph Bell, in observing the minutest detail regarding a patient's condition. This approach of diagnostic deduction inspired Conan Doyle's literary creation, Sherlock Holmes.

Sherlock Holmes made his first appearance in 'A Study of Scarlet', and its success encouraged Conan Doyle to write more stories involving the detective. Successively, Conan Doyle focused his work on non-fiction, including to military writings, such as The Great Boer War (1900) and The British Campaign in France and Flanders, 6 vol. (1916–20).

Conan Doyle was initiated in Phoenix Lodge No. 257 in Portsmouth in 1887 and resigned from the Lodge in 1889. He re-joined the same Lodge in 1902 and remained a member until 1911.

You may not know, but some of the filming for the 2009 Sherlock Holmes film starring Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law took place at the United Grand Lodge of England’s headquarters Freemasons’ Hall in London.