 Green was born in Birkin, Yorkshire, April 7, 1836. His mother died when he was very young, and he was educated by his father, Valentine Green, until he attended Rugby School in 1850. Green entered Balliol College, Oxford University, in 1855, where he was taught by Benjamin Jowett and Charles Parker. Under Jowett’s mentorship, Green was introduced to both classical Greek and eighteenth and nineteenth century German philosophy and earned a First in Greats.