[3] Billington studied at the University of Michigan, but was expelled (for a student prank).
He retired from his teaching career in 1964 and became the Senior Research Associate at the Huntington Library.
[5][6] To honor their former president and longtime member, the Organization of American Historians created the Ray Allen Billington Prize for the best book in American frontier history, "which is defined broadly to include the pioneer periods of all geographical areas, and comparisons between American frontiers and others.
In the 1970s, Billington served as a trustee of Occidental College in Los Angeles, CA and developed an affection for the school.
With funding from his estate, the college's Department of History now hosts the Ray Allen Billington Visiting Professor in U.S. History, given to honor "the tradition of fine teacher/scholars at American liberal arts colleges.