PHYSICIANS from Ireland

Top 2

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Irish Physicians of all time. This list of famous Irish Physicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. James Barry (1795 - 1865)

With an HPI of 51.97, James Barry is the most famous Irish Physician.  Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages on wikipedia.

James Barry (born Margaret Anne Bulkley, or Bulkeley; c. 1789 – 25 July 1865) 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 (equivalent to Brigadier) in charge of military hospitals, the second-highest medical office in the British Army. Barry not only improved conditions for wounded soldiers, but also the conditions of the native inhabitants, and performed the first recorded caesarean section by a European in Africa in which both the mother and child survived the operation. Although Barry's entire adult life was lived as a man, Barry was named Margaret Anne at birth and was known as female in childhood. Barry lived as a man in both public and private life, at least in part in order to be accepted as a university student, and to pursue a career as a surgeon. Barry's anatomy became known to the public and to military colleagues only after a post-mortem examination. Coincidentally, the year of Barry’s death was also the year that Elizabeth Garrett Anderson – 'Britain's first practising female doctor' – passed her Apothecaries examination. Barry qualified as a doctor and surgeon more than 50 years previously.

2. Joshua Pim (1869 - 1942)

With an HPI of 41.48, Joshua Pim is the 2nd most famous Irish Physician.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Dr Joshua Pim FRCSI (20 May 1869 – 15 April 1942) was a medical doctor and Irish amateur tennis player. He won the Wimbledon men's singles title two years in a row, in 1893 and 1894, and was ranked British number one in both those years. He won the Wimbledon men's doubles in 1890 and 1893.