Dr. Freedman was born in Crawfordville, Indiana. He attended Harvard in 1939, interrupting his studies to join the U.S. Army during WWII to become a sergeant. He returned to Harvard after the war, completing a degree in psychology and pre-med in 1947. He received the M.D. degree from Yale in 1951, spent his internship at Grace-New Haven Hospital, and did his residency at the Yale University School of Medicine. He was a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Chicago (1955–1966). He moved to the Chairmanship of Psychiatry at the University of Chicago (1966–83) and then to the University of California, Los Angeles, as Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology.
Dr. Freedman’s memoir in the American Journal of Psychiatry (151:6) notes, “He was an educator, policymaker, and mentor. He spent his professional life as a teacher, researcher, and consultant.” He spent a year at NIMH as a career investigator (1957–58). He published many articles and several books. He co-authored “The Theory and Procedure of Psychiatry” and was editor of the AMA Archives of General Psychiatry for 23 years (1970–93). Dr. Freedman was involved with many professional organizations, including the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. He was president of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, the Society of Biological Psychiatry, and the Association for Research in Nervous and Mental Disorders.
Dr. Freedman served as President of the American Psychiatric Association (1981–82).