Freinkel was born in 1926 in Mannheim, Germany, to a Russian father and German mother; the family relocated to the United States in 1934.
[1] He attended Weequahic High School in Newark, New Jersey, before earning a bachelor's degree from Princeton University in 1949 and an M.D.
He then completed postgraduate training at Boston City Hospital and married Ruth Kimmelstiel, a dermatologist, in 1955.
Kettering Professor of Medicine and the director of the Center for Endocrinology, Metabolism and Nutrition.
[1] His contribution to changing treatment programs for pregnant women with diabetes led to a significant reduction in mortality rates for their offspring.