Frederick Guthrie

Frederick Guthrie (1833 - 1886) was a British scientific writer and professor. He helped found the Physical Society of London (now the Institute of Physics) in 1874 and was president of the society from 1884-1886.^[1] He believed that science should be based on experimentation rather than discussion. He was also a professor at the Royal School of Mines, where he mentored the future experimental physicist C. V. Boys. He also mentored John Ambrose Fleming and was instrumental in turning his interest from chemistry to electricity.

He wrote the Elements of Heat in 1868 and Magnetism and Electricity in 1873.

Guthrie was the first to report on the effects of mustard gas. In 1860, he described combining ethylene with sulfur dichloride and observations of some of the physiological effects it had on him.^[2]

Guthrie was also a linguist, playwright, and poet. Under the name Frederick Cerny, he wrote the poems The Jew (1863) and Logrono (1877). His son was Frederick Bickell Guthrie, an agricultural chemist.

References

^ Lewis, John J. (2003). The Physical Society and Institute of Physics 1874-2002. Institute of Physics Publishing. ISBN 0750308796.
^ Guthrie, Frederick (1860). "XIII.—On some derivatives from the olefines". Q. J. Chem. Soc. 12 (1): 109–126. doi:10.1039/QJ8601200109.

Persondata
Name	Guthrie, Frederick
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Date of birth	1833
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Date of death	1886
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