A. CONAN DOYLE, whose father was an artist, was born in Edinburgh, in 1859. He began to write at the early age of seventeen, while studying medicine. He wrote some sixty short stories in the ten years before he became known through his widely-read “Sherlock Holmes” tales, and he has since given to the reading world such sustained efforts as “The White Company,” “Micah Clarke,” “The Refugees,” and “The Great Shadow.” Conan Doyle has given up the practice of medicine, in order to devote himself to literature exclusively. He is a close student of old romances, a great admirer of Scott and Fenimore Cooper, and has lectured on George Meredith, whom he places at the head of contemporary novel writers. The Arctic explorer, R. E. PEARY, C. E., U. S. N., was born in Pennsylvania, forty years ago. His family having removed to Maine in his childhood, he lived there till after reaching manhood. He was graduated at Bowdoin College, and, eight years ago, was selected by competitive examination to be one of the civil engineers of the United States Navy, with the same rank and pay as that of lieutenant. But he is improperly called “Lieutenant” in the press. He has written for magazines, geographical journals, and newspapers. His report on his experiences in Nicaragua as a civil engineer appeared in the “National Geographical Magazine.” His report on his reconnoissance of the Greenland inland ice in 1886, and especially his reports and articles on the North Greenland Expedition, have made him widely known. His book on this last expedition was nearly completed when he again started on another Greenland expedition a few months ago. CAMILLE FLAMMARION, the French astronomer, was born in 1842. He received his education in ecclesiastical seminaries; first at Langres and afterwards in Paris. He was a student in the Imperial Observatory from 1858 till 1862, when he became editor of the “Cosmos.” In 1865 he was made scientific editor of “Siècle.” He began about this time to lecture on astronomy, and a few years later his giving in his adhesion to spiritualism brought him great notoriety. In 1868 he made a number of balloon ascents, in order to study the condition of atmosphere at high altitudes, but he is above all an astronomer. He is called in France a “_vulgarisateur_” of astronomy, which means that he has presented to the people, in a picturesque and easily comprehended manner, the science of astronomy. His notable works are: “The Imaginary World and the Real;” “Celestial Marvels;” “God in Nature;” “History of Heaven;” “Scientific Contemplations;” “Aerial Voyages;” “The Atmosphere;” “History of this Planet;” and “The Worlds of Heaven.”