Sunday, May 22, 2005

 

Spotlight: It's elementary.... On this date in 1859, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle, was born. The first Sherlock Holmes mystery, "A Study in Scarlet," appeared in 1887, and also introduced Holmes' sidekick, Dr. Watson. Doyle was knighted for services to the crown, including writing the pamphlet, The War in South Africa: Its Cause and Conduct, explaining Britain's actions in the Boer War.

Quote: "The temptation to form premature theories upon insufficient data is the bane of our profession." — Sherlock Holmes

Today in History:

• War of the Roses: 30-year conflict began, House of York (white) vs. House of Lancaster (red) (1455)
• steamship: made first transatlantic voyage, Savannah to Liverpool (1819)
• Johnny Carson: hosted The Tonight Show for the last time, replaced by Jay Leno (1992)

Today's Birthdays:

• Laurence Olivier: British actor, director (1907-1989)
• Ted Kaczynski: the Unabomber (63)
• models: Naomi Campbell (35), Jordan (27)

Word of the Day:  modus operandi: mode of operation; detectives often try to determine a criminal's modus operandi by isolating a pattern in his habits or in the way he perpetrates a crime.   (© )