Happy birthday, Sherlock Holmes

It is the birthday of the world's greatest fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes, according to the analysis of novelist and editor Christopher Morley, founder of the Baker Street Irregulars, a society of Holmes devotees. For decades, fans with perhaps too much time on their hands have analyzed the four novels and 56 short stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to clarify such implied details as Holmes birthday and year (both 1854 and 1861 are offered), when he was at university (and whether it was Oxford or Cambridge), and the sleuth's mental health (some say he was manic depressive, others suggest Asperger's syndrome or severe family drama.) It's all great fun for fans of the most enduring crime solver of all time.

Happy birthday, Beau Brummell

It is the birthday of British fashion figure Beau Brummell (1778), who is credited with establishing the modern standard of men's fashion, with tailored dark coats, full-length trousers, pressed shirts and neckties. Although he was educated at Eton and then Oxford, he wasn't as wealthy as his fellow students. In the British Army, he became close friends with the Prince of Wales (who would become King George IV). The Prince was fascinated with Brummell's fashion sense and attention to grooming details. By force of his own personality, Brummell influenced students and later much of London society, spending most of his resources on fashion. He was considered a genius at combining colors, texture and shape of clothing to great effect. Though later he had a falling out with the Prince, such was his stature that he remained influential. Eventually, though, he ran up enormous debt and had to flee to France to avoid debtor's prison. In France, he died penniless at age 61. Books about Brummell include The Life of Beau Brummell (1844), Of Dandyism and of George Brummell (1845), Wits and Beaux of Society (1861), Beau Brummell: His Life and Letters (1925), Beau Brummell (1948), and The Dandy: Brummell to Beerbohm (1960). Brummell's style inspired plays and movies as well.

Happy birthday, Henry James

It is the birthday of writer Henry James (1843), who is best remembered as an author of the realism movement in literature. He wrote novels, short stories, and literary criticism. His best known novels are Daisy Miller (1878), Washington Square (1880), The Portrait of a Lady (1881), The Bostonians (1886), The Aspern Papers (1888), What Maisie Knew (1897), The Turn of the Screw (1898), The Wings of the Dove (1902), The Ambassadors (1903), and The Golden Bowl (1904). Many of his works first appeared in The Atlantic Monthly and other magazines. Though he was an American citizen, he lived in Europe most of his life. He became a British subject in 1915, about a year before he died. James was honored with honorary degrees from Harvard and Oxford universities.