03/06/2026
As a museum, we are proud to support Pride Month and celebrate the LGBTQ+ histories, stories, and voices that have too often been hidden, overlooked, or erased.
Today, we have been thinking a lot about Francis “Frank” Millet, the American artist and writer who tragically died on the Titanic in 1912.
What makes his story especially moving is the quiet q***r history around him. Frank was very close to Major Archibald Butt, and our historians believe their bond may have been more than friendship. Because in the Victorian times, men could not openly love other men without fear, their story was never told in the clear, honest way it might be today.
Frank came to Broadway in 1883 to paint, socialise and be himself in a community that accepted and respected everyone for their artistic ability, regardless of sexual orientation.
Whether we call it friendship, companionship, or love, their connection reminds us how many LGBTQ+ lives were hidden by history, not because they were unimportant, but because society refused to let them be seen.
Frank died in the Titanic disaster, but his story still matters. He was more than just a name on a passenger list; he was an artist, a friend, a companion, and possibly a man whose love could not be spoken aloud in his own lifetime.
