[1] His parents were Joseph Hitier, Consul-General of France in China, and Augustine Vauchelet (1832–1914).
Both were also involved in running the family-owned form in Revelles and a pasturage in Bray-lès-Mareuil.
[3] Between 1885 and 1893 Henri Hitier studied first at the Institut national agronomique and then at the École nationale des Mines.
[5] From 1930 Hitiere was Professor of Rural Economy at the École des sciences politiques.
He worked on developing farming practices that would give the most efficient yield, including rational crop management based on soil and climate, and the careful choice of methods of agriculture and use of fertilizer.