FRANK, Barney

FRANK, Barney
Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives
About this object
1940–

Biography

FRANK, Barney, a Representative from Massachusetts; born in Bayonne, Hudson County, N.J., March 31, 1940; graduated from Bayonne High School, Bayonne, N.J., 1957; A.B., Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., 1962; graduate work in political science and teaching fellow in government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., 1962-1972; J.D., Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Mass., 1977; staff, Mayor Kevin White of Boston, Mass., 1968-1971; staff, United States Representative Michael F. Harrington of Massachusetts, 1971-1972; member of the Massachusetts state legislature, 1973-1980; elected as a Democrat to the Ninety-seventh and to the fifteen succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1981-January 3, 2013); reprimanded by the U.S. House of Representatives on July 29, 1990, for improper use of political influence tp fix parking tickets and to influence probation officers for a personal friend; chair, Committee on Financial Services (One Hundred Tenth and One Hundred Eleventh Congresses); was not a candidate for reelection to the One Hundred Thirteenth Congress in 2012.

View Record in the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress

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External Research Collections

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
Archives and Special Collections, Claire T. Carney Library

Dartmouth, MA
Papers: ca. 1973-2012, 640 linear feet. The majority of the Barney Frank collection documents his U.S. congressional career, 1980-2012, including records from his district offices in Newton, Taunton and New Bedford. National issues covered include financial reform, gay rights, the housing crisis, immigration reform, military spending, and environmental protection. Local issues in the collection include fishing regulation, commuter rail, immigration and the environment. Records of his many electoral campaigns for the U.S. House of Representatives, 1980-2010 include the hard-fought win over Republican Margaret Heckler in the 4th district in 1982. The collection also includes material on legislation he sponsored between 1973 and 1980 when he served in the Massachusetts State Legislature. Received in December 2012 and January 2013, the collection, in its current, unprocessed form, totals 640 linear feet. Researchers should contact the repository in advance because access is limited.

Columbia University
Oral History Research Office

New York, NY
Oral History: 1989, 44 leaves. Reminiscences of Barney Frank concerning Allard Lowenstein. The interview was conducted by William Chafe.

Cornell University Library
Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections

Ithaca, NY
Papers: In the Wendell Ricketts Papers, ca. 1961-2004, 13.9 cubic feet. Persons represented include Barney Frank.

Library of Congress
Manuscript Division

Washington, DC
Papers: In the Mary McGrory Papers, ca. 1928-2004, 70.4 linear feet. Correspondents include Barney Frank.
Papers: In the Hedrick Smith Papers, ca. 1923-1992, 72.4 linear feet. Correspondents include Barney Frank.

National Museum and Archive of Lesbian and Gay History
Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center

New York, NY
Papers: In the New York City Organizing Committee for the March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, 1987, 1 linear foot. The records include correspondence with Barney Frank concerning difficulties caused by Amtrak's last minute violation of its contract with organizers in New York City and Boston, Massachusetts.

The New York Public Library
Manuscripts and Archives Division, Humanities and Social Sciences Library

New York, NY
Digital Audio File: 1995, 1 file. An interview with Congressman Barney Frank conducted on February 12, 1995. The interview was used by David Dunlap to write an article titled: "Gay Leaders Resisting Attacks Against Gains."
Videotapes: In the AIDS Activist Videotape Collection, 1983-2000, 630 VHS tapes. Persons represented include Barney Frank.
Papers: In the Robin Hardy Papers, 1964-2001, 18 linear feet. Persons represented include Barney Frank.

New York State Library
Manuscript and Special Collections

Albany, NY
Papers: In the Richard D. Burns Papers, 1977-1986, 48.5 inches. Persons represented include Barney Frank.

Northeastern University Libraries
Archives and Special Collections

Boston, MA
Papers: In the Bernard "Bunny" Solomon Papers, 1925-2006, 2.3 cubic feet. Persons represented include Barney Frank.

Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University
Schlesinger Library

Cambridge, MA
Papers: In the Boston N.O.W. Records, 1967-1990, 25 linear feet. Persons represented include Barney Frank.
Papers: In the Nancy L. Caroline Papers, ca. 1905-2005, approximately 55 linear feet. Persons represented include Barney Frank.
Papers: In the Committee to Ratify the Massachusetts State Equal Rights Amendment. Records, 1975-1982, 3.25 linear feet. Persons represented include Barney Frank.
Papers: In the Junior League of Boston Records, 1897-1994, approximately 60 linear feet. Persons represented include Barney Frank.
Papers: In the MASS Choice Records, 1975-1987; 9 cartons, 1/2 file box, 1 folio+ folder, 1 supersize folder. Persons represented include Barney Frank.

Swarthmore College
Peace Collection

Swarthmore, PA
Papers: In the GWEN Project Records, 1985-1994, 3.75 linear feet. Persons represented include Barney Frank.

University of California, Los Angeles
Special Collections, Young Research Library

Los Angeles, CA
Papers: In the Collection on Democracy and Unification in Korea, ca. 1975-1990, 95 boxes. Persons represented include Barney Frank.

University of Michigan
Bentley Historical Library

Ann Arbor, MI
Papers: In the Washtenaw Rainbow Action Project Records 1993-2000, 3.5 linear feet. Correspondents include Barney Frank.

University of Oklahoma
The Julian P. Kanter Political Commercial Archive, Department of Communication

Norman, OK
Videocassettes: 1980-1982, 3 commercials on 2 videocassettes. The commercials were used during Barney Frank's campaigns for the 1980 and 1982 U.S. congressional elections in District 4 of Massachusetts, Democratic Party.

Yale University Library
Divinity Library Special Collections

New Haven, CT
Papers: In the Washington Office on Africa, Addendum A Records, ca. 1982-1997, 30 linear feet. Persons represented include Barney Frank.
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Bibliography / Further Reading

Frank, Barney. Frank: A Life in Politics from the Great Society to Same-Sex Marriage. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2015.

___. Speaking Frankly: What's Wrong with the Democrats and How to Fix It. New York: Times Books, 1992.

Weisberg, Stuart E. Barney Frank: The Story of America’s Only Left-handed, Gay, Jewish Congressman. Amherst : University of Massachusetts Press, 2009.

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