British orchestra conductor, he was born in Bloomsbury, London on December 1899.
He studied violin first and afterwards received training as a cellist.
When Sir John was eleven he received a scholarship to study at Trinity College of music in London.
Later he attended the London Royal Academy of Music between 1912 and 1917. Here he became an associate and fellow and later as well at Trinity.

The first public performance was at the Queens Hall in 1911 where he did a solo in Saint-Saens' Cello Concerto in A minor.
When Barbirolli was sixteen he became a member of the Queens Hall Orchestra.

After serving in the first world war he was a cellist of the International String Quartet from 1920-1924.
In 1925 he founded the Barbirolli Chamber Orchestra, which performed in many venues.
It was here that his professional conducting vocation began.

Sir John conducted many Orchestras during his lifetime including The London Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Society.
The list is many in England, he also was a guest conductor in Finland and Russia in January 1935. In 1936 he was chosen to take over the conducting duties of the New York Philharmonic Society.

He eventually was knighted in 1949 with the title Sir John.