Frank Burnett Doggett Jr., M.D.
Marker is located on the south side of Atlantic Avenue between Michigan and Ohio Avenue, outside the entrance to the AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center.
| Marker Text: A native of Atlantic City graduated with honors as a pre-med student at Lincoln University in Chester County Pa. While completing his studies at Howard University School of Medicine in Washington D.C., Doggett was the recipient of several scholastic awards in the sciences. Dr. Doggett served in two branches of the military, the Army and served a Captain in the Air Force. He was the first African American practicing Physician to be admitted as a medical staff member in the Internal Medicine department of Atlantic City Hospital. At the time of his retirement he was the Chief Clinical Assistant in Internal Medicine. He was a dedicated physician to the Atlantic City community. He served as a former Chief Medical Physician for the New Jersey Athletic Board, where he inherited the title “fight doctor.” He was a recipient of the New Jersey Medical Society Award for 50 years of medical service. Dr. Doggett is a member and past president of the Alpha Theta Lama Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, a past president of the Atlantic City Chapter of Frontiers International, and a member and former trustee of Shiloh Baptist Church in Atlantic City. |
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Additional information:
Dr. Frank Doggett spent his nearly 100 years of life as a pioneer in the Atlantic City community. Though completing his medical internship at Harlem Hospital in New York, Dr. Doggett returned to Atlantic City, where he served the citizens’ medical needs until his retirement in 1989. For his dedication, he was commended with several awards during his lifetime, including 101 Women Plus’s Black Image Award and the St. James AME Church’s Service Award. Many Atlantic City residents fondly remember Dr. Doggett and his commitment to his patients. At the dedication ceremony for his historic marker, Atlantic City Councilman Steven Moore remarked that Dr. Doggett was so dedicated that he probably invented the term “family medicine.” Former City Council President Rosalind Norrell-Nance similarly quipped that before Nike adopted the slogan “Just Do It,” Dr. Doggett had used it as his personal philosophy. Many shared stories of his dedication to his patients, and how he always went above and beyond in his community, including personally financing the addition of an elevator his church. At the ceremony’s closing remarks, Dr. Doggett’s daughter Yvonne “Missy” Doggett told the crowd “My daddy was a superhero, but his costume was a white coat and a metal stethoscope.”
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| Yvonne "Missy" Doggett speaks during the dedication and unveiling ceremony of her father's marker. |
For more information, see these resources in the Atlantic City Free Public Library, Atlantic City Heritage Collections:
Local History Biography File - Dr. Frank B. Doggett, Jr.