John P. Spiegel, M.D.

John Spiegel, M.D., was the 103^rd president of the American Psychiatric Association from 1974 to 1975. He was instrumental in advocating for removing homosexuality from its list of mental disorders. In November 1973, the District Branch of Northern New England approved a proposal on the deletion of homosexuality from the DSM-II. This proposal went to the Reference Committee, which was chaired by Dr. Spiegel, and after much discussion, they approved deletion, provided there was a section on “Sexual Orientation Disturbance,” which was passed on to the Board.