Talmage grew up in Hungerford, England. He was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at age 10 on June 15, 1873. He moved with his family to Provo, Utah in 1877. In Provo he studied the Normal Course at Brigham Young Academy, having as one of his teachers Karl G. Maeser. He graduated in 1880.

In 1881, Talmage received a collegiate diploma from the BYA Scientific Department, the first such diploma to be issued.

His early predilection was for the sciences, and in 1882-1883 he took selected courses in chemistry and geology at Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Though a special student and not a candidate for a degree, he passed during his single year of residence nearly all the examinations in the four-year course and later graduated; and in 1883-1884 he was engaged in advanced work at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.

Talmage married Merry May Booth (1868-1944), who was normally called May, on June 14, 1888. May was a native of Alpine, Utah and the daughter of immigrants from Lancashire, England. She started studies at the normal school connected with Brigham Young Academy (BYA) in 1885, when she was 16. She met Talmage due to his being one of her instructors. While at BYA May was secretary of the Polysophical Society. After completing her course of normal study May took a job as a teacher in Kaysville, Utah. A few months later Talmage undertook a project to study the watrers of the Great Salt Lake, since such matters at least theoretically related to minerology. Talmage's main reason for this journey though was to pursue a relationship with May, and it was five months later they were married.

Besides serving with Talmage when he was president of the European Mission and overseeing the Relief Society throughout the mission, Mrs. Talmage served for 40 years as a member of the General Board of the Young Women's Mutual Improvement Association of the LDS Church. Also while in Brittain she oversaw the beginning of the YMMIA in that country.

Mrs. Talmage was a leader in the Utah Women's Sufferage Association, and was a delegate to the World Congress of Women held in connection with the Chicago World's Fair in 1893.

James E. and M. May Talmage had eight children. Among their children was John Talmage who wrote a biography of his father. Another of their children, Sterling B. Talmage (1889—1956), followed the example of his father and became a geologist. Sterling B. Talmage Papers

Talmage studied chemistry and geology at Lehigh University and Johns Hopkins University. He received a B.S. degree from Lehigh University in 1891. Talmage received a Ph.D. from Illinois Wesleyan University for nonresident work in 1896.

Talmage was elected to life membership in several learned societies, and for many years was a Fellow of the Royal Microscopical Society (London), Fellow of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society (Edinburgh), Fellow of the Geological Society (London), Fellow of the Geological Society of America, Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Associate of the Philosophical Society of Great Britain, or Victoria Institute, and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Talmage taught science at Brigham Young Academy both before and after he went to study in the eastern United States. He served as president of the University of Deseret, now known as University of Utah, from 1894-1897. University of Utah Alumni Association e-newsletter, U-News & Views, August 2007 From 1897-1907 Talmage was a professor of geology at the University of Utah.

In 1909 Talmage was serving as the director of the Deseret Museum. He went to Detroit in November of that year to participate in diggings connected with general Scotford-Soper-Savage relics craze that involved the finding of supposed ancient relics in much of Michigan. Talmage would go on to denounce these findings as a forgery in the September 1911 edition of the Deseret Museum Bulletin in an article entitled "The Michigan Relics: A Story of Forgery and Deception".

He was the author of several religious books such as Jesus the Christ, The House of the Lord, The Great Apostasy and The Articles of Faith. These books are still widely read by Latter-day Saints.

In 1911 the First Presidency of the Church was shocked to learn that a photographer had gained unauthorized access to the Salt Lake Temple and had taken numerous photographs of the interior. He was now holding those photographs ransom for $40,000. Talmage suggested that the First Presidency commission its own photographs of the temple. Joseph F. Smith, then president of the church, then suggested that Talmage write a treatise on the subject of the temple, to accompany the publication of the photographs. It was done and shortly thereafter the book titled "The House of the Lord" was published in 1912. This story is documented in Church History in the Fulness of Times. This may also be seen in his biography by his son.

Talmage also went to Washington D.C. to testify in the Smoot Hearings.

Talmage became a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1911. From 1924-1928 Talmage served as president of the European Mission of the LDS Church.

He died in 1933.

The Mathematics and Computer Sciences Building at Brigham Young University is named after Talmage. The University of Utah College of Science is housed in the James E. Talmage Building.