He was born in Tavistock Place, London in 1811, the son of civil sevant Daniel and Elizabeth (née Blizard) Curling and educated at Manor House, Chiswick. Without a degree but through the influence of his surgeon great uncle, Sir William Blizard, he became assistant-surgeon to the Royal London Hospital in 1833, becoming full surgeon in 1849. In 1834 he won the Jacksonian prize for his investigations on tetanus; and he became famous for his skill in treating diseases of the testes and rectum, his published works on which went through many editions.