At first Arthur Conan Doyle named the detective as Sherrinford Holmes (not Sherringford as he wrongly mentioned in his auto-biography Memories and Adventures 40 years later) and the biographer Ormond Sacker (see manuscript in A Study in Scarlet). But he changed his mind and renamed them as Sherlock Holmes and John H.

According to the famous Sherlockian William Baring-Gould, Sherlock Holmes died on his birthday on January 6th, 1957 - when he was 103 years old. Baring-Gould has written about this in his book: Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street: A Life of the World's First Consulting Detective .

The only woman whom Holmes ever holds in high regard is Irene Adler—one of few characters to be clever enough to get past him. Though only appearing in Conan Doyle's “A Scandal in Bohemia” (1891), she has often been portrayed as a potential love interest of Holmes in contemporary adaptations.

Two pioneers of forensic science, Dr. Joseph Bell and Dr. Henry Littlejohn, worked on the case and were credited as the primary influences for Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary creation: Sherlock Holmes.