When Giovanni Battista Ferrero was born on 17 September 1828, in Asti, Piemonte, Italy, his father, giuseppe ferrero, was 27 and his mother, teresa angela giglio, was 32. He married Maria Catterina Suppo on 2 January 1859, in Avigliana, Torino, Piemonte, Italy. They were the parents of at least 1 son and 2 daughters. He died on 29 March 1878, in his hometown, at the age of 49.