Dr. Naismith was born in 1861 in Ramsay Township (now Almonte, Ontario). His parents were both from Scotland. They met and married in Lanark County, Canada. Naismith was not good at school, but enjoyed farm work. He usually spent his days outside playing catch, hide and seek, or duck on a rock. This is old game in which a person guards a large stone from other players, who try to knock it down by throwing smaller stones at it. Naismith soon found that a soft lobbing throw was often much better than a straight hard throw in this game. This thought was later very important when he invented basketball. When he was nine, his parents died from typhoid fever. Naismith lived with his grandmother and his uncle for many years. He went to grade school at Bennies Corners near Almonte, then Almonte High School, and graduated in 1883.