Background
Ralph Marshall Hattersley, Jr. was born on March 31, 1921 Conrad, Montana, United States.
Ralph Marshall Hattersley, Jr. was born on March 31, 1921 Conrad, Montana, United States.
Ralph Hattersley studied at the University of Washington (Seattle), Montana State College (Bozeman), Rochester Institute of Technology (New York) and the University of Chicago.
Ralph Hattersley joined the U.S. Navy. While in the navy, he attended photography school in Pensacola, FL and served on the Atlantic Fleet Camera Party, spending most of his time in Trinidad. He was discharged from the navy in 1946.
Upon returning to the U.S., Ralph Hattersley enrolled in the Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute's (renamed the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1944) photography program. He graduated from the school in 1948 and began teaching in the Department of Photographic Technology. In 1949, he was offered a full-time faculty position, which he accepted. He taught photoillustration and art-based photography classes at the Institute for the next thirteen years. After teaching at the Rochester Institute of Technology, Hattersley moved to New York City. While there, he taught at various institutions including Columbia University, Pratt Institute, and the School of Visual Arts. He served as a contributing editor to Popular Photograph starting in 1957.