Today is the 150th anniversary of the birth of Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of master detective Sherlock Holmes. Doyle was headed for a medical career, studying at the University of Edinburgh, when he took an abrupt turn. Here's how it is described by the official Web site of his literary estate:

"The young medical student met a number of future authors who were also attending the university, such as for instance James Barrie and Robert Louis Stevenson. But the man who most impressed and influenced him, was without a doubt, one of his teachers, Dr. Joseph Bell. The good doctor was a master at observation, logic, deduction, and diagnosis. All these qualities were later to be found in the persona of the celebrated detective Sherlock Holmes. A couple of years into his studies, Arthur decided to try his pen at writing a short story. ..."

The estate's biolgraphy notes that Doyle's writings are indebted to Edgar Allan Poe. The one-time Baltimore resident is often credited with creating the modern detective story with his character C. Auguste Dupin, an amateur sleuth who lives in Paris and is featured in "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," "The Purloined Letter" and "The Mystery of Marie Roget."  

What better way to mark Doyle's birthday than a re-reading of a story such as "The Hound of the Baskervilles"? Pass the haggis!