[Ads-l] Earliest Occurrence of "Elementary, my dear Watson"

[Shapiro, Fred]

Many sources attribute the earliest known use of the phrase "Elementary, my dear Watson" to 1929 ir 1915 or 1909.  The 1909 date comes from my own research.  In the New Yale Book of Quotations I trace "Elementary, my dear fellow" to 1893 and the parodic "Elementary, my dear Potson" to 1901.

I have now found the exact words "Elementary, my dear Watson" in a 1908 newspaper.  This is not that important because the "Elementary, my dear Potson" citations certainly establish that "Elementary, my dear Watson" was used by 1901, but this is such a celebrated quotation that documentation of its exact occurrence is of some interest.

The newly found citation is "Elementary, my dear Watson" in the Globe (London), 27 Feb. 1908, page 1 (British Newspaper Archive).

Fred Shapiro

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