Ronald James Kurth (July 1, 1931 – April 10, 2020) was a rear admiral of the United States Navy.

Kurth was born in Madison, Wisconsin and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1954 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering.

[2] A Russian area studies scholar, Kurth earned his master's degree in public administration and his doctorate in political science of the Soviet Union and Russia at Harvard University – where he was a teaching fellow in American National Government – and taught the Russian language as an instructor at the U.S.

[4] On 11 August 1987, Kurth became the 45th President of the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, overseeing senior education and wargaming for the Navy.

[5][6] Kurth retired from the Navy at the conclusion of his Naval War College presidency on 17 July 1990 after 36 years of service.