James Barry (surgeon)

James Barry was a military surgeon in the British Army. Originally from the city of Cork in Ireland, Barry obtained a medical degree from the University of Edinburgh Medical School, then served first in Cape Town, South Africa, and subsequently in many parts of the British Empire. Before retirement, Barry had risen to the rank of Inspector General in charge of military hospitals, the second-highest medical office in the British Army. He improved conditions not only for wounded soldiers, but also for the native inhabitants. Barry performed the first recorded caesarean section by a European in Africa in which both the mother and child survived the surgery.