Person
Ryan, James Patrick (1840 - 1918)
- Born
- 1840
Tipperary, Ireland - Died
- 8 April 1918
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia - Occupation
- Ophthalmologist and Surgeon
Summary
James Ryan qualified in medicine at the Catholic University of Medicine, Dublin, in 1865, followed by several years in practice in Panama and South America, and service in the Franco-Prussian War. He migrated to Victoria in 1873, establishing what became a large and popular general practice in Melbourne. He then moved to Collins St where his practice was solely related to the eye. For 15 years he was associated with the Melbourne Hospital, most of that time as Honorary Outpatient Surgeon. In 1875 he became Honorary Assistant Surgeon at the Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital: he retired from the Hospital in 1913 as Senior Honorary Surgeon. Ryan was noted as a skilful ophthalmic and aural surgeon. A central figure in professional circles in Melbourne, he became a Member of the Medical Society of Victoria in1874, serving two terms as President. A founding Member of the Ophthalmological Society of Melbourne, he became President in1903.
Details
Chronology
- 1865
- Education - Licentiate of the King and Queen's College of Physicians of Ireland
- 1865 - 1870
- Career event - Practiced in Panama
- 1870 - 1871
- Career event - Participated in the Franco-Prussian war
- 1873
- Life event - Migrated to Melbourne
- 1874 - 1906
- Career position - Member, Medical Society of Victoria
- 1874 - 1912
- Career position - Medical attendant, Abbotsford Convent
- 1875 - 1887
- Career position - Honorary Outpatient Surgeon, Melbourne Hospital
- 1876 - 1889
- Career position - Honorary Assistant Surgeon, Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital
- 1879 - 1887?
- Career position - Member of Council, Medical Society of Victoria
- 1884
- Education - Member, Royal College of Surgeons
- 1887 - 1889
- Career position - Honorary Surgeon for Diseases of the Skin, Melbourne Hospital
- 1888
- Career position - President, Medical Society of Victoria
- 1889 - 1908
- Career position - Honorary Surgeon, Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital
- 1899
- Career position - Foundation Member, Ophthalmological Society of Melbourne
- 1902
- Career position - President, Medical Society of Victoria
- 1902
- Career position - Vice-President, Ophthalmological Society of Melbourne
- 1903
- Career position - President, Ophthalmological Society of Melbourne
- 1908 - 1913
- Career position - Senior Honorary Surgeon, Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital
- 1915
- Award - Doctor of Medicine honoris causa, National University of Ireland
Related entries
Published resources
Journal Articles
- Anon, 'James Patrick Ryan', Medical journal of Australia, 1 (9) (1918), 400-1, https://doi.org/10.5694/j.1326-5377.1918.tb32261.x. Details
- Lowe, Ronald F., 'The Ophthalmological Society of Melbourne (1899 - 1913)', Australian journal of ophthalmology, 8 (1980), 257-70, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-9071.1980.tb00350.x. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 11 November 2025