Rev. William Snodgrass was born on September 4, 1827, in Cardonald Mills, near Paisley, Scotland.

He was a clergyman and educator. He graduated from the University of Glasgow, where he was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1852. The same year he received an appointment from the Colonial Committee of the Church of Scotland as a missionary to Prince Edward Island. He served as minister of St. James' Church in Charlottetown, and in 1856, he accepted the prestigious position of minister of St. Paul’s Church in Montreal. He also served as clerk of the Synod of the Presbyterian Church of Canada (1857-1864) and was editor of the Presbyterian (1863-1865). In 1864, Snodgrass was appointed the 5th Principal of Queen's College, Kingston, Ontario. He had to deal with some trying circumstances, including the end of government grants after the unification of the provinces in 1867. Snodgrass and the Trustees launched a very ambitious, yet remarkably successful fundraising campaign across Canada. After the campaign, Snodgrass was faced with the question of the unification of the Presbyterian Church (split in 1844) and of possible amalgamation with the University of Toronto. He managed to help reach a unity settlement that would allow Queen's to remain as it was. In 1869, the first female students were admitted, the library was substantially expanded, the University Council and the position of Chancellor were created, and the Queen's Journal released its first issue. Exhausted by the burdens of office, Snodgrass resigned in 1877 and accepted a call to a comfortable parish in Canonbie, Scotland. The University of Glasgow conferred on him the honorary degree of D.D. in 1865.

In 1852, he married Jessie Calder Pollok (1828–1908). He died on July 22, 1906, in Kilmacolm, Scotland.