“Society can go its way so long as it does not get in my way. But if it does, there’s going to be a fight”

Frank was born in New York City in 1925, where he spent his childhood in Queens. He knew he wanted to be a scientist from age four and knew he wanted to be an astronomer at six. To pursue this, Frank went to college at Queens college. In response to the Pearl Harbor bombing in 1942, Frank enlisted in the army  specialized training program. This took him to UIUC to study mechanical engineering. However, his program was interrupted as he was sent to the frontlines in Europe during WWII. After the war, he returned to Queens college to finish his studies in physics in 1948. He moved on to receive a masters (1949) and doctorate (1956) from Harvard in astronomy. He briefly taught astronomy at Georgetown before being fired for a prior homosexual encounter, which was magnified by the Lavendar scare. From this point on, he fought U.S. government policy regarding discrimination based on sexuality. In 1961, Frank co-founded the Washington D.C. branch of the national gay rights organization, Mattachine society. He also worked to remove homosexuality from being classified as a mental disorder. Frank continued his efforts with various organizations until he passed away in 2011.