Frank Mark was born in Germany of physician parents. While he was a child, his family moved to New York City to escape Hitler. He attended school and college in New York and after World War II he went to Switzerland, to study medicine at the University of Bern. He has traveled through much of Europe and worked in medical facilities in many places. He has served in the U.S. Public Health Service and maintains a strong interest in health policy. He lives in Wheaton, Maryland (a suburb of Washington, DC), where he continues to observe the human condition.