Georgia Jennings, age 13, of Biloxi, Miss., for her question:

WAS SHERLOCK HOLMES A REAL PERSON?

Sherlock Holmes is perhaps the most famous detective in the world. But he is strictly a character of fiction and never was a real person.

Holmes was the creation of British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes could solve every baffling mystery with his brilliant powers of analysis and observation.

Doyle introduced Holmes in a novel called "A Study in Scarlet" in 1887. Holmes then turned up in three additional novels and in 56 short stories.

Holmes had a friend and assistant named Dr. John Watson. In most of the Sherlock Holmes adventures, Dr. Watson narrates the details.  Some say that Doyle supposedly based Holmes on Joseph Bell, a Scottish physician.