Bååth was therefore raised in Söderslätt, while attended a school in Malmö and would in 1871 become a student at Lund University.

Between 1875 and 1879, he was a teacher at the higher education academy Hvilan where he would come to meet the principal Leonard Holmström.

His name is written on the balcony of the grand hall of the Academic Society's Castle in Lund.

The Nordic enlightenment of the 1870s made a significant impression on Bååth, and this time had a profound impact on his works.

Bååth married Emma Charlotta "Lulli" Ahlberg (1864–1964) in 1894, who would outlive her husband by 52 years.