[2][3] He was a founder of Beta Alpha Psi honor society.
Born in Bloomington, Illinois to Robert and Mary Sholtey Littleton, Littleton attended Bloomington High School.
[4] After high school, Littleton had started working for the Chicago & Alton Railroad Company as station agent and telegraph operator, before returning to the university.
in 1912, he worked as accountant for Deloitte, Plender, Griffiths & Co. from three years, before starting his academic career in 1915 at the University of Illinois.
From 1919 to 1921 he served as assistant dean of the College of Commerce and Business Administration, and was assistant director of the Bureau of Economic and Business Research of the College of Commerce from 1921 to 1942.