Margaret Ann Bulkley
Darani Vasudevan
Margaret Ann Bulkley
(Biographies for children)
Darani Vasudevan
Preface, This is a Biography of a woman who pretended to be a man in order to pursue a career and indeed succeeded as a brilliant surgeon. The words used are simple and suit people of all ages. Some of the important events happened in her life are listed in the succeeding pages. Hope you like it!! - V. Darani M.Sc., M.Phil., SET
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Name: Margaret Ann Bulkley (James Miranda Steuart Barry) Born: 1789 Place of Birth: Cork, Ireland Father: Jeremiah Bulkley Mother: Marry Ann Barry Died: 25th July 1865 Place of Death: United Kingdom
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Born as a girl, disguised as a man to pursue her dream – Margaret Ann Bulkley, a historic icon who sacrificed her entire life for serving the British army as a doctor; Margaret is a Pioneer in the field of medicine who was born in a time when women were restricted from pursuing
medicine and
becoming
doctors. Her father ran the weigh house on Merchant’s Quay, Cork. Unfortunately,
the
anti
catholic
sentiment dismissed his post and his family suffered financially.
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It is believed that Margaret was molested at her teens and she gave birth to a child named Juliana, who was introduced to the world as her sister by her family. Margaret decided to pursue things “that won’t fit for woman” like work in
army
or
educational
field.
Moreover during her time, woman had very limited choices for choosing their career which frustrated Margaret. She once told her brother, “Were I not a girl, I would be a soldier”
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Her love and passion for medicine began in her teens when her family moved to London owing to hard times that circled them. Margaret’s mother had a brother named James Barry who was a Royal Academician. He was a Professor to General Francisco De Mirando and was also a painter. He worked as the Professor of painting at London’s Royal Academy. Mr. Barry was fond of Margaret, especially of her intelligence. He supported and encouraged her. He
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even helped her to practice medicine. But fate grabbed her uncle from her when she was 18 years old. She was worried. A fortune left by her Uncle sprinkled
a
thought
in
young
Margaret’s mind. Three years after the death of her dear uncle, she decided to join as a medical student at Edinburgh taking his identity because during her time it was considered illegal for a woman to study medicine. Her mother helped her with her disguise as James Barry. They reached London. She was just 22, while
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joining the institute. Her high pitched voice, slight stature and soft skin made others to think that she was too young to be there. The authorities suspected her as a boy of around 12 years old. To avoid such awkward circumstances she sought the help of her family friend Lord Buchan. His recommendation letter put an end to all the suspicions around her. She wore her overcoat all the time to maintain
her
disguise.
She
considered as a “boy genius.�
was
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After completing her studies Margaret had a plan to travel to Venezuela to practice medicine as a woman after the country acquired independence but she got the opportunity to join the army
as
James
Barry.
As
her
childhood dream came into reality she decided to maintain her disguise as James Barry. She served in the army first as a hospital assistant and later became a staff surgeon. Her first posting was at Cape Town, South AfricaShe travelled the world serving British soldiers.
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She respected her career and practiced it with dignity. Her excellence raised her to the level of Inspector General incharge of Military hospitals. Her career as a Military surgeon spanned Cape Town, St. Helena and Trinidad & Tobago. She
performed
the
first
known
Caesarean (C-) section in which both mother and child survived with good health. She produced a clear report on Cholera.
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Her notable works include: Barry T. Disputatio medica Inaugralis, de Merocete, Vel Hernia Crurali. She also served as a Human rights activist. She raised her voice against the poor conditions prevailed in prisons, barracks and asylums and created.
She
insisted
for
the
improvement of sanitary conditions of these places. She became popular for her commitment to improve the conditions for soldiers and local people.
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She became Inspector General of hospitals in Canada. During her stay in Canada, she worked to improve the diets and living standards of soldiers. Due to Canada’s climatic conditions, she fell subject to influenza which developed into Bronchitis. Her adverse health condition forced her to retire from her service. She returned back to United Kingdom suffered from dysentery and died.
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1809 to 1813- She did MD at Edinburgh University; 1813- She served for 6 months at St. Thomas Hospital, London and got recruited into army 1816- First posting at Cape Town, South Africa; 1826- She performed the C-section 22nd November 1827- she became surgeon to forces; 1828- She was sent to Mauritius; 1846- She produced report on cholera;
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1857- She became Inspector General of Hospitals in Canada; 19th July 1859- She was forced to retire from army owing to her poor health; 1865-
She
returned
to
United
Kingdom 25th July 1865- She died at United Kingdom;
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History mentions that Margaret lived life both publicly and privately as a man. She is considered as the first British woman to practice medicine. She concealed her biological identity till her last breath to pursue what she had dreamed to pursue. She had served 46 years as a man in the British army. Her gender was revealed only after her death. She died due to dysentery in 1865. Before her death Margaret expressed her last wishes to her maid named Sophia Bishop that they should
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burry her in the clothes she died in and also asked the maid not to wash the
body
after
the
death.
But
unfortunately, the maid could not follow her instructions which exposed Margaret’s identity to the world. The maid also reported that Margaret had stretch marks suggesting that she had a child. Her colleagues were shocked to know all these. They refused to believe the reality and “Barry� was officially buried as a man with full military office rank.
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Many tried to collect evidence about her identity. Major McKinnon who signed her death certificate said that, “Barry’s gender was none of his business.” He did give an opinion, “I thought that he might
be
neither....and
that
my
impression was that Dr. Barry was a Hermaphrodite.” The defining piece of evidence the world got regarding her identity is a letter she wrote her mother, ”it was very useful for Mrs. Bulkley to have a Gentleman to take care of her on
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board ship and to have one in a strange country,” The sign in the letter read James Barry but at the back of the envelope were the letters “Ms. Bulkley, 14 December.” This made historians to conclude that James Barry and Margaret Bulkley were the same person. Her death certificate was initially sealed and was not opened for many years. Margaret’s army files were locked down for years and were opened again in 1950s when a
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historian named Isobel Rae wanted to look into the content for her work. Nightingale after hearing the death f Margaret wrote about her encounter with Barry as, “I never had such a blackguard rating in all my life....I should say that (Barry)
was
the
most
hardened
creature I ever met.” Margaret was a prominent figure in 19th century. Inorder to honour her, the British officials deemed Barry’s grave
as
a
site
of
historical
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significance in 2017 mentioning that she shaped the country’s LGBT history. May be she would have missed the life of being a woman but she rose to high peak as a man. Her life gave a valuable
lesson
to
the
future
generations. Dream....work hard.....achieve it....
All the Best
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