Early and Personal Life
Burton Hatlen was born on April 9, 1936, in Santa Barbara, California. His father Julius immigrated in 1909 from Norway. He married Lily Torvend, a second generation Norwegian-American; they sometimes spoke Norwegian at home. Julius worked as a farm worker, but eventually ran his own apricot orchard. The couple, who were Lutherans, had three sons of which Burton was the youngest.
Hatlen received a full scholarship at the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned his bachelor's degree. He later earned two separate master's degrees from both Harvard University and Columbia University. Following his master's, Hatlen taught at colleges in both Tennessee and Ohio. Hatlen finally earned his doctorate from the University of California, Davis in 1973. His doctoral dissertation was on the 17th century English poet, John Milton.
Hatlen and his first wife, Barbara Karlson (b. 1938 d. 2010), had two daughters. The couple moved to Orrington, Maine, in 1967 and later divorced. He married his second wife, Virginia Nees-Hatlen, an English professor, in 1983.
Hatlen stood at over six feet tall.
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