Sherlock Holmes

"Since the time when human beings invented writing, they have left records of their understanding of the world and of the events in their lives and how they felt about them. By studying the record that previous generations have left, we can find out about the kind of lives they led and how they faced their problems. . .Historians. . .make a serious and systematic study of the past and attempt to use the knowledge they gain to help explain human nature and contemporary affairs." Jules R. Benjamin

Historians form conclusions based on the Evidence that they find. Just like a historian, the Super-Sleuth, Sherlock Holmes, used his keen sense of deduction to solve the most difficult of cases. It is "elementary my dear [student]" that to solve a question you must look hard at the evidence. Holmes said of himself, "I have a turn both for observation and for deduction." Historians could learn a lot from this research genius. In order to learn to be a History Detective, it would be most appropriate to learn from the master sleuth himself - Sherlock Holmes.

Holmes defined what it is to be a detective by saying,

"The temptation to form premature theories upon insufficient data is the bane of our profession."

"It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts."

"It is of the highest importance in the art of detection to be able to recognize out of a number of facts which are incidental and which vital. Otherwise your energy and attention must be dissipated instead of being concentrated."

Activity:

Sherlock Holmes would be a great teacher, but here is the dilemma - There is evidence to show that Sherlock Holmes was only a fictional character. There is also some evidence that leads many to believe that Sherlock Holmes was a real living breathing crime-solver, after all, millions of visitors visit his supposed residence every year at 221B Baker Street, London. Isn't that enough evidence to prove that the man was not just a figment of Arthur Conan Doyle's imagination - a character on the pages of a book? There seems to also be some evidence from a book entitled, The-Seven-Percent Solution, that the real living breathing Sherlock Holmes met with Sigmund Freud about a drug addiction. There even exist actual letters, people who wrote him, wanting to hire him to solve their mystery. Also, the internet is full of websites that claim he is real, and we can always trust the Internet.

So which is it? Was Holmes a real-life-mystery-detective, or was he but a spark of Sir Authur Conan Doyle's imagination?
In the words of the immortal Holmes himself, "Come, Watson, come! The game is afoot."

Look at the available Evidence, and any other hard Evidence you can find.
Then, answer the questions below before you discover the real answer.

Evidence:

• Pictures of Sherlock Holmes' actual London address (The arrow marks the spot.) - 221B Baker Street
• Quotes from the very lips of Sherlock Holmes - http://www.siracd.com/Sherlock-Holmes.shtml
• Evidence of his cocaine addiction and historic meeting with Sigmund Freud - http://www.siracd.com/work_h_cocaine.shtml
• Meeting with Albert Einstein and others. http://www.coolfrenchcomics.com/sherlockholmes.htm
• More about the famous 221B Baker Street - http://www.siracd.com/work_h_baker.shtml
• About 30 letters per month are written to Holmes at the famous address, and he responds to his fan mail.
• A nine foot high memorial to the legend of deduction - http://www.sherlock-holmes.co.uk/news/statue.html
• His former residence has been turned into a museum which has been "faithfully maintained". Go to the following website and click on the "Museum Tour" button to enjoy the virtual tour. You will see Holmes' belongings and even actual pictures - http://www.sherlock-holmes.co.uk/home.htm

Before we discover the answer, think about the questions that follow these instructions, open a new document in your word-processor (Microsoft Word), type the answers to the questions, and save the document in your student file as sherlock. We will discuss these answers later.

1. What evidence exists to prove that Sherlock Holmes is a real person?

2. What evidence do you know of that proves he was only fictional?

3. Where would be a good place to find even more evidence?

4. If you were doing research, what different types of evidence could you use? (Make a list.)

5. How could you categorize and organize the different types of evidence? (Categorize and Organize your list)

6. If you had a piece of evidence in your hand, what questions would you ask about it?

7. How could you insure that your thoughts about a certain piece of evidence are correct?

8. How would you keep track of the evidence you collect?

9. How does this connect to the study of history or government?

Now that you have answered the questions above, write a persuasive paragraph defending the existence of non-existence of Sherlock Holmes.