Bolitho was born on 13 September 1840 in Penzance, the son of Thomas Simon Bolitho (1808–1877) and Elizabeth Robins. The Bolithos were an old Cornish family from Madron which found its fortune in trading and banking, by 1885, they were known as the "merchant princes" of Cornwall. He was educated at Harrow School and at Corpus Christi College, Oxford.
