Guthrie , George James , 1785-1856 , surgeon

George James Guthrie was born in London, in 1785. He was apprenticed to Dr Phillips, a surgeon in Pall Mall. He attended the Windmill Street School of Medicine, and was one of those into whose arms William Cruikshank fell when he was delivering his last lecture on the brain in 1800. Guthrie served as hospital mate at the York Hospital, Chelsea from 1800-1801. Surgeon General Thomas Keate issued an order that all hospital mates must be members of the newly formed College of Surgeons. Aged 16, Guthrie was examined by Keate himself, and made such a good impression that he was posted to the 29th Regiment immediately. He accompanied the 29th Regiment to North America as Assistant Surgeon, remained there until 1807, then returned to England with the regiment and was immediately ordered out to the Peninsula. He served there until 1814, seeing much service and earning the special commendation of the Duke of Wellington. Aged 26, he acted as Principal Medical Officer at the Battle of Albuera. He was appointed Deputy Inspector of Hospitals in 1812, but the Medical Board in London refused to confirm the appointment because of his youth. He was placed on half pay at the end of the campaign, and began to practise privately in London. He attended the lectures of Charles Bell and Benjamin Brodie at the Windmill Street School of Medicine. He went to Brussels after the Battle of Waterloo, in 1815, where he carried out a number of operations including tying the peroneal artery by cutting down upon it through the calf muscles, known afterwards as 'Guthrie's bloody operation'. He returned to London and was placed in charge of two clinical wards at the York Hospital, with a promise that the most severe surgical cases would be sent to him. He was instrumental in establishing an Infirmary for Diseases of the Eye in 1816, which became 'The Royal Westminster Ophthalmic Hospital', situated in King William Street, Strand, and removed to Broad Street, Bloomsbury, in 1928. Guthrie was appointed Surgeon and remained attached to the hospital until 1838, when he resigned in favour of his son, C W G Guthrie. He was elected Assistant Surgeon to Westminster Hospital in 1823, becoming full surgeon in 1827. He resigned his office in 1843, again to make way for his son. At the Royal College of Surgeons Guthrie was a Member of Council from 1824-1856; a Member of the Court of Examiners from 1828-1856; Chairman of the Midwifery Board in 1853; Hunterian Orator in 1830; Vice-President five times; and President in 1833, 1841, and 1854. He was Hunterian Professor of Anatomy, Physiology, and Surgery from 1828-1832. He was elected FRS in 1827. He died in 1856.