Since 2013, on May 22, we celebrate both the birthday of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his most-known creation: Sherlock Holmes, one of the most loved and most famous detectives in the world.

According to the author, the character was inspired by a surgeon at the Royal Infirmary named Joseph Bell. The surgeon was known for his ability to draw correct conclusions based on minute observations.

There is another person who is believed to have influenced the character, and that is Francis "Tanky" Smith, a policeman.

Fun Facts about Sherlock Holmes:

Both Sherlock and Dr. Watson had others name in the original script. Sherlock was Sherrinford and Watson was Ormond Sacker. We are happy that Doyle decided to change their names, though.

When we think about Sherlock Holmes, we imagine him with his iconic deerstalker and pipe. However, the truth is that he was never described wearing a hat in the books.

The iconic image was inspired by an illustration that Sidney Paget created for Strand magazine.

Just like the hat, the famous saying "Elementary, my dear Watson" was never said by the legendary detective in the book.

If you think that Sherlock is the most portrayed literary character in film of all times, you are only half right. He is the most-portrayed fictional human character, but the title for the most-portrayed fictional character belongs to Dracula, a non-human.

How to Celebrate Sherlock Holmes Day

If you love to read, you can read one of the detective's many adventures. If you would like to just chill and stay in bed, there are a lot of movies and even series based on this amazing character that you can watch.

My favorite is the TV series from 2010, Sherlock.

If you want to be more active, why not do a bit of detective work yourself? Maybe you are dying to know some sort of secret you think somebody is keeping from you.

If you have kids or friends who have lived under a rock their whole life and don't know about the great detective, why not introduce them to this wonderful world created by Conan Doyle?