Thomas Jefferson Anderson was born in Nashville, Tennessee; the second of five children of William Joseph and Nancy Lou Anderson. After graduating from Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Anderson attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in economics in 1934. At Vanderbilt he excelled in athletics, earning varsity letters as a member of both the varsity tennis and track teams. He was business editor of the school's yearbook, "The Commodore", and served on the student newspaper staff. Anderson was elected president of his fraternity, Phi Delta Theta.