Early life of Jagadish Chandra Bose was spent in a place in present Bangladesh which was then a part of undivided India. He was born in the district of Munshiganj in Bengal, presently in Bangladesh, on the 30th of November 1858. The father of Jagadish Chandra Bose was a Brahmo and a leader of the Brahmo Samaj and he also worked as a deputy magistrate or assistant commissioner in Faridpur, Bardhaman and several other places. His father`s name was Bhagawan Chandra Bose. Bose` family lived in a village called Rarikhal, Bikrampur, in the present day district of Munshiganj in Bangladesh. The education of Acharya Jagadish Chandra commenced in a vernacular school, since his father had a belief that one needs to know his/her own mother tongue prior to learn English, and an individual should also know and understand his own people.

Jagadish Chandra Bose, after completing his vernacular education in his village, got admission in the Hare School in the year 1869, and afterwards he joined the St. Xavier`s School at Kolkata. In the year 1875, he passed the Entrance Examination, alike to the school graduation, of University of Calcutta and got admitted in the St. Xavier`s College, Kolkata. At St. Xavier`s College, Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose got in touch with the Jesuit Father Eugene Lafont, who had a major role in the development of interest to natural science in him. In the year 1879, from the University of Calcutta, Bose received a bachelor`s degree.

Bose had a desire to go to England in order to compete for the prestigious Indian Civil Service. However, Bhagawan Chandra Bose, his father, who was himself a civil servant, rejected his plan. Bose`s father desired his son to become a scholar, who would not be under any one`s rule but himself. Thus, Jagadish Chandra Bose left India for England to undertake course in Medicine at the University of London. However, Bose had to leave his Medicine studies due to ill health. It is also said that the foul smell in the dissection exacerbated the illness of Bose and it ultimately forced him to leave his Medicine studies.

After leaving the Medicine study in the University of London, and by the recommendation of his brother-in-law, Anand Mohan, he got admission in Christ`s College, Cambridge and studied Natural Science. Anand Mohan was also famous as the first Indian wrangler. Jagadish Chandra Bose attained the Natural Science Tripos from the University of Cambridge and also a BSc degree from the University of London in the year 1884. Among the teachers of Bose at Cambridge were Lord Rayleigh, Francis Balfour, James Dewar, Michael Foster, Francis Darwin and Sidney Vines. When Bose was studying at Cambridge, Prafulla Chandra Roy was studying at Edinburgh. Both of them met in London and became very close friends. Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose returned to India in the year 1885, carrying with him a letter from Fawcett, the economist to Lord Rippon. Lord Ripon was the then Viceroy of India. On the request of Lord Ripon, Sir Alfred Croft, the Director of Public Instruction, gave Bose the position of officiating professor of Physics in the Presidency College at Kolkata.