When does Sherlock Holmes become a detective?

Answer 1

It is during the case Watson chronicled as "The 'Gloria Scott' " that Holmes first thought of being a detective. The exact date is not known, but most scholars agree it was the mid to late 1870's.

Answer 2

Most scholars agree Holmes was a detective from the mid 1870's (The 'Gloria Scott') until 1903, and there are two recorded cases after Holmes retired 'The Adventure of the Lion's Mane' (1907) and 'His Last Bow' (1914).

Answer 3

In the short story 'His Last Bow,' Holmes and Watson are spies for the British government at the beginning of WW I though Holmes does not seem to understand the value of secrecy in the spy community.

Answer 4

Sherlock Holmes never becomes an official detective. His own self appointed job title is a consulting detective. He is free to choose his own cases and is able to solve them with almost no help from the police. Not being an official detective also meant he could step outside the constraints of the law to solve some of his cases.