Willoughby, Frances L. (c. 1906–1984)

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Willoughby, Frances L. (c. 1906–1984)

American physician. Born c. 1906 in Harrisburg, PA; died Oct 13, 1984, in Woodbury, NJ.

Enlisted in US Navy but assigned to naval reserve due to gender during WWII; with Women's Armed Services Act, which mandated the dissolution of separate women's branches in the armed forces, became 1st woman physician to hold regular US Navy commission (1948); retired from Navy (1964) and opened private practice in psychiatry (Glassboro, NJ); received Benjamin Rush Award for achievement in psychiatry (1981).