Borges Lafinur, a colonel, and Frances Ann Haslam, an Englishwoman. Borges Haslam grew up speaking English at home. The family frequently traveled to Europe. Borges Haslam wedded Leonor Acevedo Suárez in 1898 and their children also included the painter Norah Borges, sister of Jorge Luis Borges.

At age ten, Jorge Luis Borges translated Oscar Wilde's The Happy Prince