He was born in White Plains, N.Y., and came to Princeton from Fordham Preparatory School. He joined Quadrangle Club and majored in classics, writing his thesis on “Love in Latin Literature.”
After graduation, he joined the training program at Kidder, Peabody, where he would spend his entire career. In 1977, he became president of the firm, and in 1980 he was named chief executive officer, a post he held until 1987, shortly after the firm was acquired by General Electric. During his tenure the firm grew dramatically, expanding internationally and in traditional investment banking and high net worth securities brokerage. He was elected chairman of the board of governors of the New York Stock Exchange in 1971, the youngest person — at age 39 — to hold that position, and he presided over a historic reorganization of the board to develop the chairman’s position from a voluntary to full-time role. He also chaired the Securities Industry Task Force, formed to spearhead legislation to protect individual investors through the Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970 and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). He was appointed by President Nixon, and subsequently by presidents Carter and Reagan, to consecutive terms as a director of the SIPC.
Ralph was a trustee of Princeton University and made gifts to build DeNunzio Pool. He also worked on the design and building of Princeton Stadium, whose press box is named in his honor.
Ralph was predeceased by his wife of 66 years, Jean Ames. He is survived by their three sons, David ’78, Peter ’81, and Thomas ’84; and eight grandchildren.