George Hackenschmidt (Georg Karl Julius Hackenschmidt) was born in Dorpal, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire (now Tartu, Estonia). His father was Baltic German Georg Friedrich Heinrich Hackenschmidt and his mother was Ida Louise Johansson who was of Estonian and Estonian Swede descent.

George Hackenschmidt (Georg Karl Julius Hackenschmidt) died at the age of 90 at St. Francis Hospital in London, England, United Kingdom. He was cremated at West Norwood Cemetery, where his memorial plaque records him as George Hackenschmidt.