What is James Barry?
'''James Barry''' (born c. 1789 – 25 July 1865) was a military surgeon in the British Army. He is seen as a pioneer in [[hospital reform]] and [[hygiene]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Du Preez|first=Michael|last2=Dronfield|first2=Jeremy|date=October 2016|title=Dr James Barry: The woman who fooled the RCS and deceived the world|url=https://publishing.rcseng.ac.uk/doi/10.1308/rcsbull.2016.396|journal=The Bulletin of the Royal College of Surgeons of England|language=English|volume=98|issue=9|pages=396–398|doi=10.1308/rcsbull.2016.396|issn=1473-6357}}</ref> {{Infobox person | name = James Barry | image = James Barry.jpg | caption = Portrait claimed to be of Barry, {{circa|1820s}} | birth_date = {{circa|1789}} | birth_place = [[Cork (city)|Cork]], [[Kingdom of Ireland]] | death_date = {{death date and age|1865|07|25|1789|df=y}} | death_place = [[London]], England | alma_mater = [[University of Edinburgh Medical School]] | occupation = Surgeon | known_for = Medical reforms, first successful [[Caesarean section]] in Africa | relatives = [[James Barry (painter)]] (uncle) }} Barry was originally from the city of Cork in [[Ireland]]. He received a medical degree from the [[University of Edinburgh]] Medical School, then served in Cape Town ([[South Africa]]) and in many other parts of the British Empire. Before he retired, Barry had risen to the second-highest medical office in the British Army. Everywhere he served, improvements were made to sanitary conditions and to the diet and conditions of common soldiers as well as native inhabitants. This helped improve the rates of patient survival and pushed forward the field of surgery. He performed the first recorded caesarean section by a European in Africa in which both the mother and child survived the operation. Although Barry lived his entire adult life as a man, it is now believed that he was known as female in childhood, and disguised his sex all his adult life. Barry's wo