The character of Sherlock Holmes, created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in the late 19th century, is one of the most famous and beloved fictional detectives in literature. With his keen powers of observation and deduction, Sherlock Holmes solved seemingly impossible mysteries and brought criminals to justice. Though fictional, Holmes revolutionized the detective story genre and inspired generations of readers to fall in love with crime-solving. But was Sherlock Holmes based on a real person? Many have speculated that Holmes was inspired by one or more actual detectives that Doyle knew or heard about. While the character is an original creation, some real life 19th century detectives seem to share some similarities with Doyle’s famous sleuth.
Dr. Joseph Bell
One of the main inspirations for Sherlock Holmes was Dr. Joseph Bell, a lecturer at the University of Edinburgh Medical School who Doyle met while studying to become a doctor. Bell was a pioneering forensic science expert who helped police solve crimes in the 1880s. He was known for making astute deductions about patients and strangers after observing them briefly. Bell could deduce people’s occupations, backgrounds, and illnesses just by looking at their appearance and mannerisms. Doyle was impressed by this skill and based Sherlock Holmes’ uncanny deductive abilities on Joseph Bell.
In an 1892 letter to Bell, Doyle wrote:
“It is most certainly to you that I owe Sherlock Holmes…round the centre of deduction and inference and observation which I have heard you inculcate I have tried to build up a man.”
So while the character Sherlock Holmes is fictional, some of his analytical methods and logical deductions were inspired by the real life Dr. Joseph Bell.
Eugène François Vidocq
Another possible real life inspiration for Sherlock Holmes was Eugène François Vidocq, a French criminal-turned-detective who some have called the first modern detective. Vidocq lived from 1775 to 1857 and founded the first known private detective agency, Le Bureau des Renseignements Universels pour le commerce et l’Industrie (“The Office of Universal Information For Commerce and Industry”) in 1833.
In his early life, Vidocq was repeatedly arrested for crimes like forgery and theft, but he later switched sides to help police capture criminals. He was known for going undercover, changing disguises, and using forensic science like ballistics analysis to solve crimes. Vidocq is credited with introducing record-keeping, criminology, and ballistics analysis to criminal investigations.
Sherlock Holmes shares some interesting parallels with Vidocq. Both were masters of disguise who sometimes resorted to illegal means to aid their investigations. And both relied heavily on science and their own know-how to solve mysteries. It’s likely Doyle knew of Vidocq and drew some inspiration from this pioneer of criminology when dreaming up his gifted detective.
Allan Pinkerton
The Scottish-American detective Allan Pinkerton was another possible real life inspiration behind Sherlock Holmes. Pinkerton founded the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in 1850, one of the earliest detective agencies in the world. Pinkerton gained fame for foiling an assassination plot against Abraham Lincoln in 1861 before he became president.
Like Holmes, Pinkerton had diverse skills ranging from undercover work to forensic analysis. And the methods of his detective agency seemed to parallel Holmes’ investigations. Pinkerton operatives gathered information, interviewed suspects, kept detailed records, conducted surveillance, and followed leads much like Holmes and his assistant Watson.
Doyle does not seem to have acknowledged Pinkerton as a direct inspiration. But it is highly likely he knew of the famous detective agency and its tactics and drew some loose inspiration when crafting his detective stories.
William S. Baring-Gould
In addition to these 19th century detectives, some Sherlock Holmes scholars believe that Doyle partly based the character on a real person living in his own time – an English schoolteacher named William S. Baring-Gould. Baring-Gould was born in 1863 and worked as a teacher and headmaster at schools in Essex and Yorkshire for over 40 years.
According to Baring-Gould, he met Doyle in 1897 and the two became friends. He claimed Doyle modeled some key aspects of Sherlock Holmes’ personality and biography on him, including Holmes’ date of birth being the same as his own – January 6, 1854. Baring-Gould also saw similarities between Holmes’ supposed movements and career and his own.
While he wrote a definitive biography and annotated work on Sherlock Holmes, Baring-Gould’s claim that he himself was a basis for the character is not verified and remains controversial among scholars.
Francis “Tanky” Smith
Finally, some believe a British police inspector named Francis “Tanky” Smith was one of Doyle’s inspirations for Sherlock Holmes. Smith was one of the first detectives to work for the Metropolitan Police in London from the 1830s to 1850s. He gained fame for his detective skills, just like Holmes.
Smith was given the nickname “Tanky” for his short stature. Intriguingly, in Doyle’s first Sherlock Holmes novel A Study in Scarlet, he is described as being rather short. Holmes is also described as having an “immense strength” despite his small size, much like the compact but strong Tanky Smith.
It’s speculated Doyle heard of Smith’s legendary case-cracking abilities while reporting on crimes or through Police Commissioner Edwin Chadwick, an acquaintance of Doyle’s father. While not a direct basis for Holmes, Smith may have provided some loose inspiration.
Conclusion
Sherlock Holmes remains one of the most enduring fictional characters of all time more than 130 years after his creation. While Holmes himself is a wholly original character dreamed up by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author seems to have drawn inspiration from a variety of real life 19th century detectives.
Dr. Joseph Bell’s uncanny deductive observations, Eugène Vidocq’s mastery of disguise and forensics, Allan Pinkerton’s detective agency methods, William Baring-Gould’s intellect and shared biographical details, and Francis “Tanky” Smith’s compact stature and famed case-cracking skills all added touches of realism and credibility to Doyle’s amazing detective. Holmes embodies the ground-breaking forensic science, undercover work, analytical thinking, and tenacity of these pioneers of criminology.
So while there may not be one singular real life Sherlock Holmes, Doyle artfully synthesized details and techniques from a variety of fascinating contemporary detectives to create his legendary sleuth.