Doyle at his desk, allegedly writing A Study in Scarlet in 1886. Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (1859-1930) was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger. He was a prolific writer whose other works include science fiction stories, plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction and historical novels. As a war journalist, he reported on the 1899-1902 Boer War in South Africa. After the death of his son in the First World War, he became involved in spiritualism. He died of a heart attack at the age of 71. His last words were directed toward his wife: "You are wonderful."