Thomas William Rhys Davids was born in Colchester, Essex, 12 May 1843. He was educated at Brighton School and Breslau University, where he studied Greek and Sanskrit. He held a number of posts in the Ceylon Civil Service, including District Judge and Archaeological Commissioner, 1866-72. He returned to England and became a barrister in 1877 before being appointed Professor of Pali and Buddhist Literature at University College, London, a position he held from 1882-1904. He subsequently became Professor of Comparative Religion at Manchester University in 1905.
Rhys Davids married Caroline Foley in 1894. She was also a Pali scholar. He was a founder and President of the Pali Text Society from 1881-1922, and a founder of the British Academy, 1901. He served as Secretary and Librarian of the Royal Asiatic Society from 1887-1905, and he established the Indian Text Series.
In his retirement, Rhys Davids wrote for the Manchester Guardian and worked on the preparation of a Pali dictionary. He died in Chipstead, Surrey, on 27 December 1922.