Adolf Wiesner se narodil na Novém Městě pražském v židovské rodině. Jeho otec Theodor Wiesner byl obchodník dobytkem. Studoval na pražské malířské akademii u profesora Maxmiliána Pirnera.
Wiesner was born Adolf Wiener to a Jewish family in Prague in 1807, though later changed his surname to Wiesner after converting to Roman Catholicism due to his desire to pursue a legal career.