Edwin Southern was born in Chorley Lancashire and educated at Gawthorpe High School,  then he continued as a graduate student in the Department of Mathematics, the University of Oxford where he was awarded his master's degree in 1965.
Southern was born in Burnley, Lancashire and educated at Burnley Grammar School. He continued as a graduate student (then Demonstrator, 1963) in the Department of Chemistry, University of Glasgow, where he was awarded his PhD in 1962. 
