The legacy of Douglas Guthrie (1885-1975), surgeon and medical historian

Abstract

After graduating in medicine Douglas Guthrie embarked on a career as an ENT surgeon. When his Edinburgh hospital appointment ended in 1936 he began to write History of Medicine, which, thanks to a favourable review by George Bernard Shaw, became a worldwide best seller when first published in 1945. This marked the start of Guthrie's second career as a lecturer in history of medicine at the University of Edinburgh where his prime responsibility was delivering systematic lectures on medical history to medical undergraduates. At a time when history of medicine was virtually the exclusive preserve of medical doctors, Guthrie promoted to them the historiography techniques of the academic historian. His vision that social historians should become involved in the field and that history of medicine should be taught in arts and humanities faculties began to be adopted in British universities a decade or so after Guthrie made the recommendation. His legacy includes the Scottish Society of the History of Medicine and the British Society for the History of Medicine, both of which he helped to found. His name is commemorated in various charitable trusts which he established to promote the study of history of medicine.

Keywords: Douglas Guthrie; ENT surgery; History of Medicine.