Adam Osborne was born in Thailand March 6, 1939 to British parents where he spent most of his childhood in India. He attended school and graduated from the University of Birmingham in 1961 and received his PHD from the University of Delaware. Adams career started out as a chemical engineer working for Shell Oil and then left in the early 1970s to pursue his interests in computers and technical writing. He died in March 18, 2003 at the age of 64.