Edward James Corbett was born 25th July 1875 of English ancestry in Nainital districts of Uttarakhand. He grew up spending much of his childhood exploring the wilderness that exists around. Jim Corbett lived his life amidst dense jungle and developed a deep knowledge of the way. Sir Jim Corbett spent his major part of his life at Gurney House (located in Nainital) with his large family, his mother Mary Jane Corbett and his sister Margaret Winfred Corbett.His father, who was postmaster in Nainital died when Jim Corbett was four. The whole responsibility fell to Corbett's mother to raise and educate 12 children on a widow's meager pension.