Sir Arthur Conan Doyle actually answered this question himself (well, sort of). In a promo contest for the release of the last collection of 12 Sherlock Holmes short stories in 1927 (titled 'The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes), he selected his 12 favourite short stories from the first 44 also excluding the 4 novels. His first choice was 'The Adventure of the Speckled Band.'
Check the link below.
Sherlock Holmes
The answer is: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle! Most people should know that!
The name of the detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is Sherlock Holmes.
The original Sherlock Holmes stories were written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote the Sherlock Holmes Chronicles.
The Great Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of eight (of the original 60) Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, never gave him a middle name, there for it is just Sherlock Holmes.
Sherlock Holmes' mum is never mentioned in the stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle actually wrote 60 stories about Sherlock Holmes.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
The narrator of most Sherlock Holmes stories is Dr. Watson