Robert Hooke was born in Freshwater, Isle of Wight, England. His father, John Hooke, was a curate in the Church of England. Robert was a sickly child and often kept home.

Hooke demonstrated a keen interest in mechanics and drawing from a young age. He built working models of machines and showed talent in sketching, hinting at his future scientific pursuits.

After his father's death, Hooke was apprenticed to a painter in London. However, this apprenticeship was short-lived as Hooke quickly recognized his aptitude was in mechanical and scientific pursuits, not art, and was released to pursue his true calling.

Hooke enrolled at Westminster School under the tutelage of Dr. Richard Busby, a renowned headmaster. Here, he quickly mastered Latin and Greek and excelled in mathematics and physics, laying the groundwork for his future scientific career.

Hooke entered Christ Church, Oxford, as a servitor, a position that allowed him to attend university while working to support himself. This marks the start of his formal scientific training and his association with prominent scientists of the era.