A fictional detective from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Sherlock Holmes made his publishing debut in 1887. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a Scottish-born author and physician, created him. A brilliant investigator from London, Holmes is renowned for his intellectual prowess and for his deductive reasoning (used rather incorrectly; see inductive reasoning) and keen observation skills in solving complex cases. He is one of the most well-known and well recognised literary characters in any genre, and he is possibly the most renowned fictional detective ever written. Four books and 56 short stories by Conan Doyle that included Holmes were written. Dr. John H. Watson, Holmes' companion and biographer, told all but four of the tales, with two of them being his own.