Joseph Bell

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For the British politician and trade unionist, see Joseph Nicholas Bell.

Dr Joseph Bell

Joseph Bell, JP, DL, FRCS (2 December 1837 – 4 October 1911) was a Scottish lecturer at the medical school of the University of Edinburgh in the 19th century. He was a great-grandson of Benjamin Bell, a forensic surgeon. In his instruction, Bell emphasized the importance of close observation in making a diagnosis. To illustrate this, he would often pick a stranger and, by observing him, deduce his occupation and recent activities. These skills caused him to be considered a pioneer in forensic science (forensic pathology in particular) when science was not often used in the investigations of crimes.

Arthur Conan Doyle met Bell in 1877, and served as his clerk at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. Doyle later went on to author a series of popular stories featuring the character Sherlock Holmes, who Doyle stated was loosely based on Bell and his observant ways. Bell was aware of this inspiration and took some pride in it.

Bell also served as personal surgeon to Queen Victoria whenever she visited Scotland. He also published several medical textbooks. Bell was a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, a Justice of the Peace, and a Deputy Lieutenant.

Joseph Bell died on 4 October 1911. He was buried at the Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh alongside his wife, Edith Katherine Erskine Murray, and their son Benjamin, and next to his father's and brother's plots.

[edit] Dramatisation

The BBC television series Murder Rooms: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes was a fictionalised account of Doyle's time as Bell's clerk. The series exaggerated the degree to which Holmes was based on Bell (played by Ian Richardson), and positioned Doyle as Dr. Watson. The original one-off production which led to the later series was released on DVD and VHS in the US in 2003, titled Dr. Bell and Mr. Doyle - The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes.

In 2006, Stone Publishing House published a book aimed at schoolchildren titled Dr Joseph Bell — the original Sherlock Holmes. Illustrated by Cheryl Ives, it was written by Kent historian Dr Robert Hume, who had previously authored books about Christopher Columbus and Perkin Warbeck.

In the Doctor Who episode "Tooth and Claw", the time travelling adventurer known as the Doctor identifies himself as an ex-student of Dr Bell to Queen Victoria.

The comic book Les dossiers du Professeur Bell by Joann Sfar is about the (fictional) supernatural adventures of Dr. Bell.

In episode 11, Season 5, of the Fox TV show House M.D., Wilson presents House with Joseph Bell's Manual Of the Operations of Surgery as a Christmas gift. The character of House is based on Holmes, who, as noted, was based in turn on Bell.

[edit] Grave

Gravestones of Joseph Bell and family
Overview of his family's gravestone	Overview of his father's gravestone	Overview of his brother's and family gravestone	Overview of the Bell's family gravestones
Closeup of the inscription of the gravestone of Joseph Bell	Closeup of the inscription on his wife's stone	Closeup of the inscription on his son's stone