7 July 1930: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle dies

On 7 July 1930, Sherlock Holmes author Arthur Conan Doyle died at his home in Crowborough, England.

Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 22 March 1859, to Irish Catholic parents. While studying medicine at Edinburgh University his professor was Dr Joseph Bell whose keen powers of observation would later inspire Doyle to create Sherlock Holmes. At this time, he started writing and publishing short stories. Doyle continued on the medical career path until the late 1880s when he gave up medicine altogether to focus on writing and his faith.

Realising from readers’ reactions that he could write tales that were life-like and credible, Doyle set about creating characters who could solve mysteries. His characters evolved into Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson and in 1887 his first Holmes story appeared. The literary canon of Sherlock Holmes eventually reached 56 short stories and four novels, with The Hound of the Baskervilles being the most popular.

In August of 1885, he married Louisa Hawkins, the sister of one of his patients. Their daughter Mary was born in 1889 and a son Kingsley in 1892. Louisa was diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1893, at that time a virtual death sentence, and he nursed her until her death in 1903.

A year after Louisa’s death, he married Jean Leckie and with her had three children, Denis, Adrian, and Jean. Doyle was knighted in 1902 for his work with a field hospital in Bloemfontein, South Africa, and other services during the South African (Boer) War.

After the death of his son in WWI, Doyle progressively became attracted to spiritualism and the occult and became the world’s most renowned proponent of spiritualism. He travelled widely and visited Australia in 1920 (for more detail read the chapter in Susannah’s book Brief Encounters about what he saw and did) and lectured around the world on the topic. The photograph above was taken by well-known British exponent of spirit photography, Ada Deane.

In 1929 he was diagnosed with Angina Pectoris (a cardiovascular condition) and despite his doctor’s advice, went on a spiritualism tour through the Netherlands. He would later return home with chest pains and was left bedridden until his death from a heart attack on 7 July 1930, aged 71. His last words were to tell his wife that she was wonderful. He was first buried in Windlesham rose garden but was later reinterred together with his wife in Minstead churchyard in the New Forest, Hampshire.