He was the father of the barrister and Indian independence activist Eardley Norton.
John Bruce Norton was born in London in 1815, a son of the British soldier and lawyer John David Norton (1787–1843) who served as a judge of the Supreme Court of Madras in 1841–42.
John Bruce Norton was educated at Harrow and Merton College, Oxford, then in 1841 enrolled at Lincoln's Inn to read for the bar.
[2] In 1842 Norton moved with his father to India and commenced a legal practice in Madras.
In 1863 he was appointed as Advocate-General of Madras, serving until his retirement in 1871.