Artist: Robert Wadsworth Grafton (1876–1936)
William Henry Hatch
HATCH, WILLIAM HENRY (1833–1896), inducted by 1920
Born near Georgetown, Kentucky, William H. Hatch was an attorney and Confederate officer before his election as US Representative from Missouri in 1879. While serving as chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, he sponsored the Hatch Act of 1887, which established state agricultural experiment stations for the colleges created by the Morrill Land-Grant College Act. University buildings and facilities across the nation are named in his honor. William Hatch championed agricultural causes throughout his career, including legislation to elevate the Department of Agriculture to Cabinet level. Hatch Farm in Hannibal, Missouri, became the Hatch Dairy Experiment Station after his death.
This portrait is framed as a triptych, with two other agricultural policy leaders, Justin Morrill and Henry Adams.
Source: Saddle & Sirloin Guidebook 2026, p. 106