Joseph Bell, born in 1837, was a Scottish surgeon and lecturer at the medical school of the University of Edinburgh.
He was the great grandson of Benjamin Bell, considered to be the first Scottish scientific surgeon.
He studied medicine and received his MD in 1859, going on to serve as Queen Victoria's personal surgeon whenever she made visits to Scotland.
But where does the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes tie in?
The much-loved author of the Sherlock Holmes series, Arthur Conan Doyle, also studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh Medical School, with Bell as his teacher.
Detective Holmes was modelled on the way Joseph Bell worked. In 1892, Doyle wrote a letter to Bell, telling him: "It is most certainly to you that I owe Sherlock Holmes...round the centre of deduction and inference and observation which I have heard you inculcate I have tried to build up a man."
According to Irving Wallace, Bell was involved in a series of police investigations, mainly in Scotland, such as the Ardlamont mystery of 1893.
He was usually paired up with forensic expert Professor Henry Littlejohn. Bell also gave his analysis of the Ripper murders to Scotland Yard.
Joseph Bell was a man of many talents, which inspired the famous character that we all know and love.
In addition to being a highly esteemed medical professional, Bell was also an amateur poet, a sportsman and a bird-watcher.
By the end of Doyle's second year at medical school, Bell had selected him to serve as his assistant in his ward at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. This allowed Doyle to observe Bell and his abilities to quickly deduce a lot about a patient.
For a while, Doyle seen himself as Dr Watson, Sherlock Holmes' loyal assistant. Bell was aware that he was the inspiration behind Sherlock Holmes.
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