James Barry

18th-19th Century

Sketch of Dr James Barry. Image: Welcome Library, London

“Do not consider whether what I say is a young man speaking, but whether my discussion with you is that of a man of understanding.” － James Barry in the dedication to his medical thesis.

Born in Merchants Quay Ireland, Margaret Buckley would make a name for herself throughout the British Empire as a military surgeon, but not as Margaret Buckley.

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries the medical field could not be entered by women. The young, 20-year-old Margaret disguised herself as a 12-year-old boy named James Barry, the son of her late uncle with the same name. James Barry was accepted at the Edinburgh Medical School and after successfully completing a degree in medicine, Barry moved to London to complete an apprenticeship.

In both the public and private spheres, James Barry lived as a man and was accepted as such, despite his short stature, smooth face, and high-pitched voice. He joined the British army as a hospital assistant working in Chelsea and Plymouth before been posted to the Cape of Good Hope in 1816. He arrived in the Cape as a hospital assistant but soon assumed the post of personal physician to the governor Lord Charles Somerset, along with the promotion to colonial medical inspector.

At the Cape, Barry performed the first successful caesarean section in Africa where both mother and child survived. He was particularly concerned with the disadvantaged members of society and was committed to reform the medical practice of the many hospitals in the Cape and the rest of the Colony.

Barry found the source of the poor water systems in Cape Town that caused illness. He worked to improve the conditions of the leper colony at Hemel en Aarde and those of prisoners and soldiers. Barry was promoted to surgeon in 1827 and had spent a decade working in the Cape before serving in Mauritius, Jamaica, the West Indies, Malta, Corfu, St Helena, and Canada.

James Barry achieved the second highest rank given to a doctor in the army, that of Inspector General. On his deathbed, Barry insisted on being buried in the clothes he was wearing at the time of death. However, this request was ignored and the woman who cleaned his body for burial discovered Barry’s female identity.