Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh on May 22, 1859, one of seven children who survived to adulthood. Moving away from his family's strict Catholicism and, cut off from their patronage, he decided to set up his own practice in Southsea in 1882. He was a doctor by trade; specializing as an optician. It is believed that during his off periods of work he would think about and write his various stories. He is well known for several science fiction works, and adventure stories but of course his most recognizable works are the Sherlock Holmes mysteries. Doyle was a prolific writer; other than Holmes stories, his works include popular characters such as Professor Challenger and historical stories about the Napoleonic soldier Brigadier Gerard, as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels. After the death of his first wife, Louise Hawkins, he went on to marry Jean Leckie in 1907 and they had two sons and a daughter. He died in 1930.