Douglas Guthrie graduated in medicine from the University of Edinburgh in 1907. After service in the First World War he became a consultant Ear, Nose and Throat surgeon to the Royal Edinburgh Hospital for Sick Children, with a particular interest in speech disorders in childhood. After he retirement he pursued a related interest as a historian of medicine, and his publications included History of Medicine (1945). In 1948 he founded the Scottish Society of the History of Medicine.
From the guide to the Guthrie, Douglas, 1948-1960, (Lothian Health Services Archive, University of Edinburgh)