BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 / Graveyard Questions

**Posted by besleybean** January 23, 2013 7:05 am

Not when they show him alive!

**Posted by Lily** February 22, 2013 11:16 pm

Given that the lack of any inscription on the tombstone apart from the name was discussed earlier in this thread, here is a better picture:

There are details, they are just very low and apart from the birthday not readable because the flowers cover everything.

**Posted by Harriet** February 23, 2013 9:26 am

Good work, Lily! I can decipher January 6 now...

**Posted by Lily** February 23, 2013 9:28 am

I would have wished though they had shown his birth year... I don't know why they don't want to say how old he is.

Last edited by Lily (February 23, 2013 11:23 am)

**Posted by Mary Me** February 23, 2013 11:04 am

The 6th January? I should have registered two days earlier

**Posted by SusiGo** February 23, 2013 12:02 pm

6th January is generally given as Sherlock's birthday but I don't know the source for this.

As for Sherlock's age: In "A Game of the Shadows" you can see a memorial plaque in the church during his funeral service. It says 1854 - 1891. So he would have been 37 (10 years younger than RDJ but almost exactly Benedict's age). But I don't know if his birth year or age is mentioned somewhere in the canon.

**Posted by Lily** February 23, 2013 12:05 pm

Sherlock Holmes' birthday is usually assumed to be January 6th 1854 but I'm not sure how this was calculated. An exact date is never mentioned in the books, it's just fan speculation.