The first caesarean delivery in South Africa was successfully performed on 25 July 1826, by Dr James Barry (1789-1865), an army surgeon in Cape Town. The newborn boy was named James Barry Munnik, after his doctor. Ironically, Dr James Barry was actually Margaret Ann Bulkley, who had changed her name when she was 20 years old in order to gain admission to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh. At that time, women were not permitted to study medicine. Barry graduated in 1812 and, after several hospital posts in London, joined the British army in 1813. Promotion to Assistant Staff Surgeon in 1816 brought Barry to the Cape of Good Hope. Only after Barry's death was it discovered that she had concealed her sex for 56 years in order to practice medicine.
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