James Barry (surgeon)

James Barry (1795 – 25 July1865) was either a British woman of uncertain origin, or an intersex person, who lived as a man, possibly in order to work as a medical doctor in the British Army. By today's standards, s/he also might have been transgender.

Information about Barry's past is scarce and rife with myth-making and speculation. Some speculate that his original name would have been Miranda Stuart but that is about it. He might have misrepresented his age. The reason for his living as a man may have been that it was practically impossible for a woman to become a professional physician at the time, especially in the army.

Barry was accepted into the Edinburgh University as a 'literary and medical student' in 1809 and qualified with a Medical Doctorate in 1812. He was commissioned as a Hospital Assistant with the British Army in 1813. He might have served in the Battle of Waterloo (June 18, 1815). After that he served in India and then in the South Africa. Depending on what source one believes he arrived in Cape Town between 1815 and 1817.

In a couple of weeks he became the Medical Inspector for the colony. During his stay, he arranged for a better water system for Cape Town and performed one of the first known successful Caesarean sections - the boy was christened James Barry Munnik. He also gained enemies by criticizing local handling of medical matters. He left in 1828.

Next postings included Mauritius in 1828, Trinidad and Tobago and the island of Saint Helena. In Saint Helena he got into trouble for leaving for England unannounced. Later he served in Malta, Corfu, the Crimea, Jamaica and in 1831 Canada.

By this time he had reached the rank of Inspector General, H.M. Army Hospitals. However, during his next posting in Saint Helena he got into trouble with the internal politics of the island, was arrested and sent to home and demoted to Staff Surgeon. His next posting was West Indies in 1838.

In the West Indies he concentrated on medicine, management and improving the conditions of the troops and was later promoted to Principal Medical Officer. In 1845, Barry contracted yellow fever and left for England for sick leave in October.

Barry was posted to Malta on November 2, 1846. Within a month of his arrival he took a seat in the local church that was reserved for the clergy and was severely reprimanded. During his stay he had to deal with a threat of a cholera epidemic that eventually arrived in 1850.

He left Malta for Corfu in 1851 with the rank of Deputy Inspector-General of Hospitals. He left Corfu in 1857 for Canada as a Inspector-General of Hospitals.

Barry was not always a pleasant fellow to be around with. He could be tactless, impatient, argumentative and opinionated. He reputedly fought a couple of duels when someone commented on his voice, features or professionalism. He was punished many times for insubordination and discourteous behavior but often got away with lenient sentences. During the Crimean War (1854 - 1856), he got into an argument with Florence Nightingale.

He appears to have had a good bedside manner and professional skill. He tried to improve sanitary conditions wherever he went and improve the conditions and diet of the common soldier. He reacted indignantly to unnecessary suffering. His insistence to better conditions of poor and commoners annoyed both quacks and his peers. He was a vegetarian and teetotaler and reputedly recommended wine baths for some patients. His dogs and a black manservant named John were his constant companions.

James Barry retired in 1864 — reputedly against his wishes — and returned to England. He died July 25, 1865 and apparently the charwomen who took care of the body were the first to discover his female body. One of them claimed to recognize pregnancy scars. Of course afterwards many people claimed to "have known it all along". He was buried with the only known name and with full rank. His manservant returned to Jamaica.

Further reading

• June Rose - The Perfect Gentleman

External links

• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online (http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.asp?BioId=38405)
• http://www.geocities.com/hotsprings/2615/medhist/barry.html
• http://www.lothene.demon.co.uk/others/barry.html
• http://www.vanhunks.com/cape1/barry1.html