Biographical
Sketch
Ralph Willard Hidy was born
in Portland, Indiana, on 21 April 1905. He received an A.B. in history
from Miami University in 1926, an M.A. from Clark University in 1928,
and a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1935. Throughout his long career
as a historian, Hidy worked at such respected institutions as Norwich
University (1928-1930), Wheaton College (1932-1947), New York University
(1950-1957), and Harvard University (1957-1971). His primary field of
study was business history.
Hidy was a member of numerous
professional historical associations, including the Economic History
Association, the American Historical Association, the Organization of
American Historians, and the Forest History Society. At various times
he held officer positions on the boards of such organizations. He authored
many books and journal articles pertaining to American business history
and served as an editor for Harvard Studies in Business History
(1962-1971) and Business History Review (1962-1965). Hidy resided
in Belmont, Massachusetts, at the time of his death on December 5th,
1977.
