James Barry

A groundbreaking military surgeon who lived as a man to practice medicine, performing the first successful Caesarean section in Africa.

James Barry (1789–1865), born Margaret Ann Bulkley, was a British military surgeon who lived as a man for over 46 years to pursue a medical career, becoming one of the most accomplished physicians of the Victorian era. After graduating from the University of Edinburgh in 1812—disguised as male—Barry rose to become Inspector General of Hospitals, reforming military medicine across the British Empire.

In 1826, while stationed in Cape Town, Barry performed the first successful Caesarean section in Africa where both mother and child survived, a procedure detailed in The Lancet. His insistence on hygiene standards and humane patient care preceded Florence Nightingale's reforms by decades.

Barry's true gender was discovered only after death, sparking debates about gender identity in medical history. Modern scholars like History Today recognize Barry as a transgender pioneer. Despite societal constraints, Barry's medical innovations saved countless lives and reshaped colonial healthcare systems.