José Gerson da Cunha was born in Arpora, Bardez, Goa on 2 February 1844. He attained a diploma of Licentiate of the Royal College of Doctors of Edinburgh and that of Licentiate in Obstetrics by the Royal college of London in 1867. In Goa he studied at the Primary school and studied Latin, French and Philosophy in 1860. In 1862, he joined the University of Bombay for Matriculation and joined the medical college of Grant in Bombay. He attained the licence of medicine from the University of Bombay and later from the University of London in 1867. In 1871 he was elected to the member of the East India Association and in 1873 he became a member of the Institute Vasco da Gama and the Royal Asiatic Society of Bombay in the same year. he wrote a number of articles in various medical journals in Europe and India.