Ralph Clyde Body (February 18, 1903 – June 2, 1973) was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, E.D. Pa.) is one of the original 13 federal judiciary districts created by the Judiciary Act of 1789. It originally sat in Independence Hall in Phila ...

Education and career

Born in Yellow House,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

, Body received an

Artium Baccalaureus Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State becam ...

in 1925. He received a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of ...

from

University of Pennsylvania Law School The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Law or Penn Carey Law) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is among the most selective and olde ...

in 1928. He was in private practice of law in Pennsylvania from 1928 to 1960. He was solicitor for the Recorder of Deeds for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from 1933 to 1936. He worked for the

Home Owners' Loan Corporation The Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) was a government-sponsored corporation created as part of the New Deal. The corporation was established in 1933 by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation Act under the leadership of President Franklin D. Roo ...

from 1933 to 1941. He was an assistant county solicitor in Pennsylvania from 1936 to 1938. He was a member of the

Berks County Berks County (Pennsylvania German: ''Barricks Kaundi'') is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 428,849. The county seat is Reading. The Schuylkill River, a tributary of the Delaware River ...

Board Law Examiners from 1946 to 1960. He was a judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Berks County from 1960 to 1962.

Federal judicial service

Body was nominated by President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

on March 5, 1962, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Allan Kuhn Grim Allan Kuhn Grim (October 15, 1904 – December 7, 1965) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Education and career Born in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, Grim received an Artiu ...

. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and ...

on April 2, 1962, and received his commission on April 4, 1962. He assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...

due to a certified disability on May 30, 1972. His service was terminated on June 2, 1973, due to his death.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Body, Ralph C. 1903 births 1973 deaths Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania United States district court judges appointed by John F. Kennedy 20th-century American judges University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni Judges of the Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas