Edward de Bono was born in Malta and after his initial education where he obtained a degree in medicine, he proceeded as a Rhodes Scholar to Christ Church Oxford where he gained an honours degree in psychology and physiology and then a D.Phil in medicine. He also holds a PhD from Cambridge. He has faculty appointments at the universities of Oxford, London, Cambridge and Harvard.

Dr de Bono is the founder and director of the Cognitive Research Trust in Cambridge ( founded 1969 ) and the Centre for the Study of Thinking. He runs what is now the largest curriculum programme in the world for the direct teaching of thinking in schools.

Dr de Bono is the originator of the term 'lateral thinking' and also the inventor of the classic L-game which is said to be the simplest game ever invented.