1897: Born on January 23 in Cuttack, Orissa, to Prabhabati and Janakinath Bose. Janakinath, an advocate, was the first non-official Chairman of the Cuttack Municipality and a government pleader and public prosecutor.

1902: Enrolls in the Baptist Mission School.

1902 - 1913: Subhas as a teenager comes under the influence of the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekanada.

1913: Passes high school examination. Comes second in examination for entrance to Calcutta University, which at that time included almost the entire north India and the eastern provinces of undivided India.

1914: Joins Presidency College, Calcutta, with philosophy as the major subject.

1916: Suspended from Presidency College for going on strike against manhandling of students by an English professor. Appeals to the university for permission to study in some other college, but is refused. Takes to social service, organises youth for physical, intellectual and moral advancement and campaigns against untouchability.

1917: Gets admission in Scottish Church College, Calcutta.

1919: Sails for England after passing the B A examination with first class honours, to appear for the Indian Civil Service (ICS) examination and also to take the Tripos in Moral Philosophy at the Cambridge University.

1920: Joins Cambridge University and appears for the ICS Examination in August. Ranks fourth among the successful candidates. Following a secret information, British authorities reduce his rank to fourth on suspicion that he might resign from the ICS. Examination result would have ranked him first but his marks are reduced in the viva.