Ralph K. Davies
{{Short description|American businessman (1897ā1971)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name =
| image =
| office = Deputy Petroleum Administrator
| status =
| president = Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Harry S. Truman
| term_start = 1942
| term_end = 1946
| succeeding =
| predecessor = Vacant
| successor = Office abolished
| office1 =
| alongside1 =
| president1 =
| term_start1 =
| term_end1 =
| predecessor1 =
| successor1 =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1897|9|7}}
| birth_place = Cherrydale, Virginia, U.S.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-ralph-k-davies-obit/2504116/|title=Ralph K Davies obit|newspaper=The Times |date=September 20, 1971|pages=25|via=newspapers.com}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1971|9|19|1897|9|7}}
| death_place = San Francisco, California, U.S.
| party =
| education =
| appointer =
}}
Ralph K. Davies (September 9, 1897 ā September 19, 1971) was an American businessman and political appointee. He began his career in oil and later moved into shipping. He was married to Louise Davies.
Early life
Davies was a native of Cherrydale, Virginia, a neighborhood in Arlington, but moved at a young age to San Francisco, California. At 15 he became an office boy.{{Cite web|last=SFGATE|first=Katie Dowd|date=June 21, 2023|title=Missing Titanic submersible CEO is from prominent SF family|url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/missing-titanic-submersible-ceo-sf-family-18162447.php|access-date=June 22, 2023|website=SFGATE|language=en-US|archive-date=June 21, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230621191805/https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/missing-titanic-submersible-ceo-sf-family-18162447.php|url-status=live}}
Career
= Oil =
He was a director of Standard Oil Company of California in the 1920sā30s. He was the youngest person to become a director in Standard Oil's history. At 33, he became vice president of Standard Oil.{{Cite web|title=Davies, Ralph K. (Ralph Kenneth), 1897-1971 - Social Networks and Archival Context|url=https://snaccooperative.org/ark:/99166/w6gb4xmc|access-date=June 22, 2023|website=snaccooperative.org}}
= Shipping =
From 1946 until 1971, when he died, he was chairman of the shipping company American President Lines. Under his leadership, the company went from almost bankrupt to a shipping empire. During his term at American President Lines, he became a millionaire.{{Cite news|date=September 21, 1971|title=RALPH DAVIES, 74, SHIP LINES HEAD|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/09/21/archives/ralph-davies-v4-ship-lihbs-head-american-president-chief-dieswas.html|access-date=June 22, 2023|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230622025632/https://www.nytimes.com/1971/09/21/archives/ralph-davies-v4-ship-lihbs-head-american-president-chief-dieswas.html|url-status=live}}
= Politics =
Under Franklin Delano Roosevelt he served as Deputy Petroleum Administrator of the Petroleum Administration for War, in the Department of the Interior, Davies reported directly to Harold Ickes, and sometimes President Roosevelt. He served in this post from 1942 to 1946, though the administration was inactive for the final year of his term. Davies was designated as Deputy Administrator in 1941 but did not take office until the following year.{{Cite web|title=Records of the Petroleum Administration for War [PAW]|url=https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/253.html|access-date=June 22, 2023|website=www.archives.gov|archive-date=November 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181128210928/https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/253.html|url-status=live}} He was awarded with a medal of merit by Harry S. Truman.{{Cite web|title=Citation Accompanying the Medal for Merit Awarded to Ralph K. Davies. {{!}} The American Presidency Project|url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/citation-accompanying-the-medal-for-merit-awarded-ralph-k-davies|access-date=June 22, 2023|website=www.presidency.ucsb.edu|archive-date=February 4, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204151815/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/citation-accompanying-the-medal-for-merit-awarded-ralph-k-davies|url-status=live}}
Philanthropy
Ralph Davies Medical Center was founded and named after him. It closed in the 1980s. The medical center was involved in a 1975 court case.{{Cite web|title=Ralph Davies Medical Center, San Francisco, CA|url=https://store.legendsofamerica.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=5063|access-date=June 22, 2023|website=store.legendsofamerica.com|archive-date=June 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230622210757/https://store.legendsofamerica.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=5063|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Voyles v. Ralph K. Davies Medical Center, 403 F. Supp. 456 (N.D. Cal. 1975)|url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/403/456/1560096/|access-date=June 22, 2023|website=Justia Law|language=en|archive-date=March 24, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230324042452/https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/403/456/1560096/|url-status=live}} His wife Louise was the patron of the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall.{{cn|date=November 2023}}
Personal life
He was married to Louise Davies.{{cn|date=November 2023}} The couple had three daughters Ellen Rush, Maryon Davies Lewis and Alice Davies.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/09/21/archives/ralph-davies-v4-ship-lihbs-head-american-president-chief-dieswas.html|title=Ralph Davies, 74, Ship Lines Head |work=The New York Times |date=September 21, 1971 |access-date=June 22, 2023 |archive-date=June 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230622202833/https://www.nytimes.com/1971/09/21/archives/ralph-davies-v4-ship-lihbs-head-american-president-chief-dieswas.html |url-status=live}} Ellen Davies went on to marry Stockton Rush Jr., a descendant of Benjamin Rush. The couple had a son, Stockton Rush III who died in the Titan submersible implosion.{{Cite news|date=June 19, 2023|title=Titanic tourist submersible goes missing with search underway|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65953872|access-date=June 22, 2023|archive-date=June 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230619134256/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65953872|url-status=live}} Davies died in 1971 in San Francisco. He was 74.
References
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