Frederick Guthrie was a scientific writer and professor in London who lived from 1833 to 1886. He helped found the Physical Society of London (now the Institute of Physics) in 1874, and was president of the society from 1876. He believed that science should be based on experimentation rather than discussion.

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

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