He was born on 26 May 1887 at Pathein in the Irrawaddy delta, son of U Poe Hla and Daw Nyunt.

[2] He passed university entry class from Rangoon Government High School.

In the early 1950s, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters at the University of Rangoon.

Ba U served as a judge under British, Japanese and Burmese rule.

[2] In 1913 he married Daw Nyein, daughter of retired district judge Aung Zan, and they had two sons.