Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, he was the first graduate of Kaimuki High School to come to Princeton. He majored in history, was in Whig Clio, and took his meals at Ivy Club. His senior-year roommates, whose nickname for him was “Big Daddy,” were Tom Haskell and Jim Cole.
After earning a master’s degree in East Asian regional studies at Harvard and a Ph.D. at Princeton, writing his dissertation on Japanese feudalism, Frank followed a remarkable career in academia, anchored by his directing the Asia Pacific American program at the Smithsonian Institution from 1997 until 2010. He was the first Asian Pacific American curator of the National Museum of American History. He taught at various times at Amherst, Columbia, Occidental, Long Beach State, Penn, Princeton, the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and elsewhere. A prolific author, he was an internationally known pioneer and advocate for Asian American Studies. He was an active member of the Asian American Alumni Association of Princeton.
Frank is survived by his wife of 59 years, Enid; children David, Jonathan, Rachel, and their families, which include four grandchildren.