Ralph Harman Booth was an art connoisseur, philanthropist, newspaper publisher, co-founder of Booth Newspapers, Inc., with his elder brother, George Gough Booth, and United States Minister to Denmark. An art collector and patron, he was the last President of the Detroit Museum of Art, the founding President of the Detroit Arts Commission, and served as the museum's Chief Executive Officer until the new museum, the Detroit Institute of Arts, opened on Woodward Avenue in October 1927.

Ralph Harman Booth was born September 29, 1873, in Toronto, Canada. In 1881, aged 8 years, he moved with his family to Detroit, Michigan. After attending Cass Technical High School up to ninth grade, he took his first job as a cashier at First National Bank in 1888. He entered the newspaper business in 1891 and became secretary and business manager of the Detroit Tribune.

In 1895, James E. Scripps selected Booth as business manager of the Chicago Journal. Requiring closer family management of the Chicago Journal, Scripps appointed Booth as editor and president from 1901 until 1904, when the newspaper was sold. Scripps also selected Booth to be his representative on the Board of Directors of the Associated Press. He returned to Detroit and became President of Detroit Tribune until its merger with Detroit News in 1917.

Booth met and courted Mary Batterman, to whom he proposed in Europe in 1905, after she had traveled there to pursue her music education. Born Myrtle Mary Batterman on May 31, 1879 in Chicago, Mary was the daughter of John Henry Batterman and Mary Schuster (Batterman). On May 23, 1906, they were married in Chicago, Illinois. They had two children: John Lord Booth I (June 13, 1907-November 11, 1994) and Virginia Kingswood Booth (Vogel) (July 30, 1908-February 15, 1998).

The sale of the Chicago Journal in 1904 had provided Booth with the financial means to acquire his own personal interest in several small newspapers, including those of Saginaw, Flint, Jackson, Grand Rapids, and also Musekegon and an interest in George Booth's Bay City Times. In 1914, he combined his newspaper holdings with that of his brother, George, to form Booth Publishing Company (later known as Booth Newspapers, Inc.). Ralph was its first President until 1930.

As part of the new city charter for Detroit in 1919, and its provision to create the City of Detroit Arts Commission (DAC), the Detroit Museum of Art (DMA) became a public museum eligible for city funding above $75,000. Established as a private museum in 1885, the DMA could only receive financial support of $75,000 per year, which was used for operations until 1919.

Mayor Couzens appointed Booth to become President of the Detroit Arts Commission, while retaining his Presidency of the Detroit Museum of Art. Under his leadership, from 1919 until his resignation in 1930, he directed most of the funding to acquisitions only, which required the DMA to meet operational expenses through fundraising. As President of the DAC, Booth was responsible for the creation of the new Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) on Woodward Avenue, including securing financial support, overseeing its design and construction, managing acquisitions of collections, recruiting staff, and appointing arts commissioners.

An architectural competition for the design of the DIA was started in 1913 and won by Paul Cret in 1918. In 1921, Dr. William R. Valentiner was retained as the first Director of the DIA and groundbreaking for the new museum took place that year. On October 7, 1927, the Detroit Institute of Arts officially opened. His commitment to completing the DIA, and developing music, literature, and fine arts in the city of Detroit to cultivate a contented citizenship, was one of his reasons for respectfully declining an offer from Governor Alex Groesbeck to represent Michigan in the United States Senate in 1922.

Ralph and Mary lived in the rented, "Parker House," on Jefferson Avenue opposite Christ Church Detroit. Their son, John L. Booth, who was born on June 13, 1907, in Detroit, Michigan was married to Winifred May Wessel in the English Church in Copenhagen, Denmark, on April 25, 1931. Their daughter, Virginia Kingswood Booth (Vogel), was born on July 30, 1908, in Detroit, Michigan. She married William Dickerman Vogel in English Church, Kobenhavn (Copenhagen), Denmark, on March 4, 1931. Their wedding was chronicled in newspapers around the world and their guests included children of the Chilean and Norwegian ambassadors to Denmark, while the Danish king and queen sent orchids to the couple. Virginia and William Vogel had four children: Grace Dickerman, Virginia Kingswood, Ralph Booth, and Frederick III. William Vogel died in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in April 1980. Virginia Vogel died in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in March 1998.

In 1930, Booth resigned his position at the DIA after being appointed by President Hoover to be the United States Minister to Denmark (a role now referred to as Ambassador). He served as Minister until his death on June 20, 1931, in Badgastein, Salzburg, Austria. Mary was also an art collector and Trustee of the Founders Society of the Detroit Institute of Arts. She died September 4, 1951, in Grosse Pointe, Michigan.

1873

Ralph Harman Booth born on September 29 in Toronto, Canada.

1879

Mary Batterman born on May 31 in Chicago, Illinois.

1881

Ralph, aged 8, moved with his family from Toronto to Detroit, where he attended Cass Technical High School.

1891

Entered newspaper business and became business manager of the Detroit Tribune.

1895

Ralph became business manager of the Chicago Journal.

1901-1904

Editor and president of Chicago Journal.

1904

Following the sale of the Chicago Journal, Ralph returned to Detroit and became President of the Detroit Tribune until it merged with Detroit News in 1917.

1906

Ralph Harman Booth married Mary Batterman on May 23, 1906, in Chicago, Illinois.

1907

John Lord Booth I born on June 13, 1907, in Detroit, Michigan.

1908

Virginia Kingswood Booth born on July 30, 1908, in Grosse Pointe, Michigan.

1914

Ralph and George formed Booth Publishing, Inc. by combining their newspaper holdings. Ralph was the first President.

1919

Mayor Couzens appointed Booth to become President of the Detroit Arts Commission, while retaining his Presidency of the Detroit Museum of Art. Under his leadership (1919-1930) the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) was created.

1921

Groundbreaking for the DIA. Dr. William R. Valentiner retained as the first Director of the DIA.

1927

The Detroit Institute of Arts opens on October 7th.

1930

Ralph Harman Booth appointed United States Minister to Denmark by President Hoover.

1931

Virginia Kingswood Booth Vogel married William Dickerman Vogel on March 4, 1931, in Copenhagen, Denmark.

John Lord Booth married Winifred May Wessel on April 25, 1931, in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Ralph Harman Booth died on June 20, 1931, in Badgastein, Salzburg, Austria.

1940

Virginia and William move to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Virginia, who was an art collector in her own right, became a benefactor of the Milwaukee Museum of Art, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Milwaukee Public Library, Harvard University, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

1944

John Lord Booth and Winifred Wessel Booth are divorced on June 4, 1944.

1944

John Lord Booth marries Louise Preston Camper on 26 August 1944 at the First Presbyterian Church in Roanoke, VA.

1951

Mary Batterman Booth died September 4, 1951, in Grosse Pointe, Michigan.

1959

Virginia was awarded the Milwaukee Arts Center's Friends of Art award.

1980

William Vogel died in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in April 1980.

1994

John Lord Booth died at home in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, on November 11, 1994.

1998

Virginia Vogel died in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in March 1998.