Britain

’s First Woman Doctor Essay, Research Paper

Most historians could tell you about Britain s first woman doctor, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson. With her determination and courage to challenge the medical profession she carved the way for many women in the medical field. But what many historians don t know is the facts and story behind whom was actually the truly first woman doctor of England.

Dr. James Barry enjoyed a high reputation as a skilled surgeon for over fifty years. The following excerpt from The Manchester Guardian in August of 1865 tells of his accomplishments:

Dr. Barry enjoyed a reputation for considerable skill in his profession, especially for firmness, decision, and in rapidity in difficult operations. The gentleman entered the army in 1813, passed through grades of assistant surgeon and surgeon in various regiments. His professional accomplishments promoted him to the staff at the Cape. In 1840, he was promoted to medical inspector and transferred to Malta. He proceeded from Malta to Corfu were he was quartered for many years He died there, and upon his death was discovered to be a woman.

When an autopsy revealed that Barry was a woman, the war department and the medical association was so embarrassed that they hid their findings and Dr. Barry was buried officially as a man. By order of the British War Office, not one London paper covered the news of Dr. Barry s death. It could have been a major scandal. Who could imagine that the army s most distinguished surgeons with a rank equal to major general had been a woman – and no one ever discovered her identity?

Not a lot was known about the early life of this woman until 1950, when author Isabel Rae convinced the British War Office and the University of Edinburgh to let her see their Barry Papers .

It seems that Dr. Barry got her name from a man she called Uncle , James Barry, R.A. He was an Irish painter. This is where his nephew s education in anatomy probably began. When she became his nephew is not known, but James Barry believing women should be the well-instructed companions and associates of men , did not care to educate the child regardless of sex.

After her uncle s death in 1806, the girl had the privilege of visiting Latin American patriot General Miranda and David Stuart Erskine, the 11th earl of Buchan, both who were known to have the best private libraries in London. With the help of Lord Buchan, James Barry had no trouble getting admitted into the Edinburgh Medical School at the age of fifteen. This was the same school Sophia Jex Blake tried so desperately to gain entrance to in 1869. If only she had been a man!

As a new doctor, Dr. Barry went to London, where she was a junior surgeon s apprentice. Within 6 months she completed her studies and passed an examination by the College of Surgeons of London.