<sod>John William Henry II was born on September 13, 1949 in [[Quincy, Illinois]].  His parents were soybean farmers, and he split his time growing up between [[Illinois]] and [[Arkansas]]. His [[asthma]]tic condition<ref>{{cite web|author=Steve WulfESPN The Magazine senior writerArchive |url=http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7005442/mlb-how-john-henry-built-sports-empire-espn-magazine |title=MLB - How John Henry built his sports empire - ESPN The Magazine - ESPN |publisher=Espn.go.com |date=2011-09-26 |accessdate=2012-08-25}}</ref> at the age of 15 prompted his family to move to [[Apple Valley, California|Apple Valley]], [[California]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.awesomestories.com/assets/john-henry |title=John Henry - Red Sox Owner |publisher=Awesome Stories |date= |accessdate=2012-08-25}}</ref> After his graduation from [[Victor Valley High School]] in [[Victorville, California|Victorville]], he attended [[Victor Valley College]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.streetstories.com/jwh_fw_top100.html |title=John W. Henry is featured in Financial World Wall Street 100 Article at |publisher=Streetstories.com |date= |accessdate=2012-08-25}}</ref> then the University of California (at [[University of California, Riverside|Riverside]], [[University of California, Irvine|Irvine]], and [[UCLA|Los Angeles]]), where he majored in [[philosophy]] but did not graduate<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2010/10/06/2152882/john-w-henry-a-self-made-millionaire-who-brought-glory-days-back- |title=John W. Henry: A self-made millionaire who brought glory days back to Boston Red Sox |publisher=Goal.com |date=2010-10-06 |accessdate=2012-08-25}}</ref> — partly the result of performing on the road in two [[rock and roll]] bands, Elysian Fields and Hillary.{{citation needed|date=August 2013}}<eod>
<sod>{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2016}}<eod>