Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, KStJ, DL (22 May 1859 - 7 July 1930) was a British writer best known for his detective fiction featuring Sherlock Holmes. Originally a physician, in 1887 he published A Study in Scarlet, the first of four novels about Holmes and Dr. Watson. In addition, Doyle wrote over fifty short stories featuring the famous detective. The Sherlock Holmes stories are generally considered milestones in the field of crime fiction. Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories have remained an evergreen favorite around the world, having been the subject of dozens of movies, television and radio shows, and other media. Notably, the WWII-era Basil Rathbone movies, the 1980s British TV series with Jeremy Brett in the title role, and most recently the movie series starring Robert Downey Jr. and the wildly popular TV series with Benedict Cumberbatch. Doyle was a prolific writer; his non-Sherlockian works include fantasy and science fiction stories about Professor Challenger and humorous stories about the Napoleonic soldier Brigadier Gerard, as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction and historical novels. One of Doyle's early short stories, "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement", helped to popularize the mystery of the Mary Celeste.