James Barry (Margaret Ann Bulkley)

Biography

• Born ‘Margaret Ann Bulkley’ Cork, Ireland
• 1809-1812 MD Edinburgh University
• 1813 – St Thomas Hospital, London; examined at the Royal College of Surgeons and recruited into the army
• Inspector-General of Hospitals
• Died July 25, 1865

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Key Medical Contributions

1826 – Performed first recorded successful caesarean section (in the English-speaking world) with survival of both mother and child

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Controversies

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Major Publications

• Jacobus Barry. Disputatio Medica Inaugralis, de Merocele, vel Hernia Crurali [An inaugural medical dissertation concerning merocele or femoral hernia] (Doctoral thesis)

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References

• du Preez HM. Dr James Barry: The early years revealed
• Imposters: Dr James Barry. BBC World Service. 1999 [Podcast]
• Rae I. The strange story of Dr James Barry. Longmans, Green. 1958
• Hacker C. The Indomitable Lady Doctors Formac 2001
• Du Preez: Dr James Barry (1789–1865): the Edinburgh years. Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. 2012; 42: 258–65
• du Preez HM, Dronfield J. Dr James Barry: A Woman Ahead of Her Time 2016 [Guardian Review]
• Wirtzfeld DA. The history of women in surgery. Can J Surg. 2009;52(4):317–320. [PMC2724816]