David Schindler was born on 3 August 1940 in Fargo, North Dakota, USA. He was married to Suzanne Bayley and Kathe Dietrich. He died on 4 March 2021 in Brisco, British Columbia, Canada.
He originally studied engineering physics at the University of Minnesota, but transferred to zoology at North Dakota State University. He received a doctorate degree from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.
