A specialist in the history of modern business, Ralph Willard Hidy 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).