Exemplary / Historical Theses
Dr James Barry
"An incident is just now being discussed in military circles so extraordinary
that, were not the truth capable of being vouched for by official authority,
the narration would certainly be deemed incredible. Our officers quartered at
the Cape between 15 and 20 years ago may remember a certain Dr Barry attached
to the medical staff there, and enjoying a reputation for considerable skill in
his profession, especially for firmness, decision and rapidity in difficult
operations. The gentleman had entered the army in 1813, had passed, of course,
through the grades of assistant surgeon and surgeon in various regiments, and
had served as such in various quarters of the globe. His professional
acquirements had procured for him promotion to the staff at the Cape. About
1840 he became promoted to be medical inspector, and was transferred to Malta.
He proceded from Malta to Corfu where he was quartered for many years... He
there died about a month ago, and upon his death was discovered to be a woman.
The motives that occasioned and the time when commenced this singular deception
are both shrouded in mystery. But thus it stands as an indisputable fact, that
a woman was for 40 years an officer in the British service, and fought one duel
and had sought many more, had pursued a legitimate medical education, and
received a regular diploma, and had acquired almost a celebrity for skill as a
surgical operator."
- Excerpt from "The Manchester Guardian" of 21st August 1865
Little is known about the early years and parentage of James Barry. 'He' was
born in London around 1795 and joined the University of Edinburgh as a
'literary and medical student' in the autumn of 1809, qualifying with a
medical doctorate in 1812. Throughout her medical studies, Barry maintained her
male masquerade. She appears to have made but one friend at the University, a
fellow-student named John Jobson, who in after years declared that he had never
suspected her of being a woman. Having gained her MD, she was successful in the
Army Medical Board examination in June 1813 and was commissioned as a Hospital
Assistant with the British Army on 5 July 1813.
Through her subterfuge, Dr James Barry had made history by being the first
woman in Britain to graduate as a medical doctor and to fulfil an active army
career dedicated to medicine and the amelioration of human suffering. The
reasons for her masquerade during her medical training and then in the course
of her career in the Army Medical Department can easily be explained by the
fact that a medical career for a woman in the United Kingdom in the early
decades of the nineteenth century was unthinkable. Despite the subterfuge,
Barry, during her forty-six years service, showed herself to be a most
successful doctor and administrator.
Read her thesis here
Bibliographical information about James Barrry obtained from:
Rae I. The strange story of Dr James Barry. Longmans: London, 1958, p.1-114
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Some 67 years after Barry, Arthur Conan Doyle was also a student of medicine at
the University of Edinburgh, from 1876-1881. It was during this time that his
first fictional story was published, The Mystery of Sasassa Valley in
Chambers' Journal (6 September 1879).
After graduating from Edinburgh, Conan Doyle took on a number of jobs,
including serving as a ship's doctor on a voyage to the West African coast. In
1882, the enigmatic Dr George Turnavine Budd, whom Conan Doyle had first met
when the two were students in Edinburgh, invited Conan Doyle to become his
partner in a medical practice in Plymouth. Their relationship was a turbulent
one, and ended with Conan Doyle moving to Southsea. It is perhaps fortunate
for us that the break occurred when it did, for, although he built up an
increasingly successful medical practice, it was during his quieter moments in
Southsea that Conan Doyle expanded his literary activities, leading eventually
to the creation of Sherlock Holmes and the detective's first appearance in
A Study in Scarlet, which appeared in Beeton's Christmas
Annual for 1887. It was also during his time in Southsea that Conan Doyle
studied and wrote the MD thesis which is on display here.
This thesis, on Tabes Dorsalis was first published in 1885. This work
describes a degenerative condition resulting from untreated syphilis infection.
Besides providing him with a medical degree, the University of Edinburgh also
brought Conan Doyle into contact with two characters who were to be important
models for future fictional creations: Professor Rutherford, whose Assyrian
beard, prodigious voice, enormous chest, and singular manner became translated
into Professor George Edward Challenger of The Lost World; and Dr
Joseph Bell, whose amazing deductions concerning the history of his patients
were to provide the ideas behind the deductive skills of Sherlock Holmes.
Read his thesis here
Bibliographical information about Conan Doyle obtained from: The Arthur Conan Doyle
Society (http://www.ash-tree.bc.ca/acdsocy.html
- 01/04/2004)
Last updated: Wed, 01 September, 2004
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