"[3] Born in Chicago to Robert M. and Elizabeth Ann Taft Hatfield, Hatfield obtained BA on the job at the Northwestern University in 1892, and his Ph.D. in political economy at the University of Chicago in 1897.
Hatfield had started his career in the municipal bond field prior to his university studies.
He started his academic career in 1894 as lecturer in political economics at the Washington University in St. Louis.
After his graduation in 1898 he was employed by the University of Chicago as instructor, and promoted assistant Professor in 1902.
Hatfield became the 5th inductee into the Accounting Hall of Fame in 1961.