Josephy Hyde Pratt was born on February 3, 1870, in Hartford, Connecticut. Pratt attended and graduated from Yale, where his studies focused on chemistry, geology, and mineralogy. In 1897, he moved to North Carolina where he served as state mineralogist (1897-1906), state geologist (1906-1924), and professor of geology at the University of North Carolina (1904-1925). During World War I, Pratt served on the North Carolina Council of Defense and later as colonel of the 105th Engineers, with which he saw service on the front. He died on June 2, 1942, in Chapel Hill (Orange County).