James Barry (c.1789-99 - 1965)
Barry and a servant
July 25th 1865: James Barry dies
On this day in 1865, British surgeon Dr. James Barry died, upon which it was discovered that he was biologically female. Born Margaret Ann Bulkley, daughter of a grocer from Cork, she wanted to become a doctor but as a female was barred from medical school. Bulkley, her family, and liberal friends of her uncle (artist James Barry) concocted a plan to disguise her as a man under her uncle’s name and enroll in medical school in Edinburgh to allow her to fulfill her dream of being a doctor. Upon graduating medical school - technically the first woman to do so in Britain - Barry enlisted as a surgeon in the British Army. The plan was initially for her to move to Venezuela as a female doctor, but this fell through and Barry decided to continue in a male role. He served in India and Africa and rose to the high rank of Inspector General of military hospitals. Barry was a skilled surgeon, who had the highest recovery rate for wounded soldiers during the Crimean War and performed one of the first successful Caesarean sections; the grateful parents of this child named him James Barry Munnik Hertzog, and he went on to become Prime Minister of South Africa. Barry also focused on improving public health among the general populace, promoting improved sanitation standards and good diets. Barry was reportedly a difficult character, once arguing with Florence Nightingale, and often fought duels in defense of his honour when someone commented on his high-pitched voice and diminutive stature. When James Barry died of dysentery in 1865, despite once requesting that his body not be examined upon his death, it was discovered that Barry was biologically female. A nurse even found marks which indicated that Barry had once given birth. Army officials were so horrified that they had been tricked into accepting a female doctor that they locked away Dr. Barry’s service records, but the remarkable life of James Barry has since come to light and proved an object of fascination for historians.
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