James Barry has been described as "one of the most romantic figures in the annals of medical history as well as an enduring enigma to all would-be biographers. The circumstances of his life have been dramatised to such a degree and so much speculation woven around the meagre facts that do exist, than an objective approach to it has become well-nigh impossible" (Burrows, 1958, p. 80). Barry was born about 1789 as Margaret Anne Bulkley, but hid her gender and lived life as the male James Barry to enable her to study medicine. [At this time only men were admitted to medical schools in Britain]. Barry moved to Edinburgh in December 1809 and qualified as Doctor of Medicine there in 1812, dedicating his thesis to his two influential patrons, General Francisco de Miranda and the eleventh earl of Buchan. The thesis was titled Disputatio medica inauguralis de merocele vel hernia curali, etc. (Edinburgh, 1812). He qualified as a regimental surgeon in January 1813 and served as hospital assistant in Plymouth and London to December 1815, when he was promoted to assistant surgeon. He was sent to the Cape Colony, arriving in August 1816, where in addition to his official duties he acted as private physician to governor Charles Somerset and his family.

In March 1822 Barry succeeded Dr J. Robb as colonial medical inspector, and in the same year Somerset made him principal medical officer of the militia at the Cape. The next year he published a short paper on "Hydrophobia at the Cape" in the Calcutta Journal of Political and General Literature (1823). His medical competence was highly rated and there is no doubt about his ability as a medical practitioner. However, he had antagonized many by preventing unqualified persons from practicing medicine, forbidding the sale of drugs by merchants, and repeatedly criticizing the conditions and treatment of inmates of the leper institution near Caledon, Somerset Hospital, and the jail in Cape Town. His numerous letters to the Colonial Office in Britain also showed little respect for official dignity. Following a dispute with the fiscal in 1825 he lost his post as colonial medical inspector, but this did not affect his military career, for in November 1827 he was promoted to staff-surgeon. Although a sale of his carriage, horses, and part of his furniture was advertised in the South African Commercial Advertiser of 23 November 1825, he left the Cape only in October 1828, having been posted to Mauritius.

Barry made medical history when, on 25 July 1826, he delivered Mrs. Wilhelmina J. Munnik of a son by performing what appears to have been the first completely successful caesarean section in the English speaking world, in that both mother and child survived. The boy was named James Barry Munnik in his honour.

The social reforms instituted by Barry at the Cape also constitute an important contribution to medicine. His inspection of public institutions led to improvements in diet, hygiene, and treatment, and shows that he had a good conscience and a determination to obtain justice for the unfortunate inmates. After leaving the Cape Barry served in Mauritius and in the West Indies. He was promoted to deputy inspector-general of hospitals in 1851 and stationed on the island of Corfu. In 1858 he became inspector-general of hospitals in Canada, but ill health led to his retirement to England in 1859.

Despite Barry's undoubted competence as a surgeon and his success as a social reformer interest in him has often focused on the controversy regarding his gender. He was a small person with a high-pitched voice and an effeminate manner, so that even during his lifetime there was some speculation that he might be female. Upon his death in 1865 the charwoman who laid out his body stated that he had been a woman. No other direct evidence is available. In accordance with his social role he is treated as a male in this database.

List of sources:

Barry, Jacobus. Disputatio medica inauguralis de merocele vel hernia curali, etc. Edinburgh, 1812. Retrieved on 15 March 2023 from https://books.google.co.za/books?hl=en&lr=&id=tUxpAAAAcAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=J Barry&ots=-7vWfsq7vW&sig=trIstxuNkq9zeBUl_6XANGktyd4#v=onepage&q&f=false

Beck, J.H.M. History of medicine and medical practice at the Cape. In British Medical Association, Cape of Good Hope (Western Province) Branch, Presidential addresses for the years 1888-1908 (pp. 63-111). Cape Town: Townsend, Taylor and Snashall, 1908.

Burrows, E.H. A history of medicine in South Africa up to the end of the nineteenth century. Cape Town: Balkema, 1958.

Dictionary of South African biography, Vol. 2, 1972.

Du Preez, M. H. Dr James Barry: The early years revealed. South African Medical Journal, 2008, Vol. 98(1), pp.52-58. Retrieved on 16 March 2023 from http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0256-95742008000100025

Google scholar. http://scholar.google.co.za/ , publications by J. Barry.

Laidler, P.W. & Gelfand, M. South Africa, its medical history, 1652-1898. Cape Town: Struik, 1971.

Sandler, E.M. The first caesarean section at the Cape of Good Hope. South African Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 1967, Vol. 5, pp. 20-21.

South African Commercial Advertiser, 23 November 1825, p. 7, advertissement.

Compiled by: C. Plug

Last updated: 2023-03-16 09:53:37