Bostock was a son of Dr. John Bostock, Sr. He spent some time at New College at Hackney where he attended Joseph Priestley's lectures on chemistry and natural philosophy,John Bostock to Benjamin Rush, 4 June 1805; Library Company of Philadelphia, Rush MS 25/71. before graduating in Medicine at the University of Edinburgh and practising medicine in Liverpool. He moved to London in 1817 where he concentrated on general science. In 1819, Bostock was first to accurately describe hay fever as a disease that affected the upper respiratory tract.
