David Snellgrove s-a nascut la Portsmouth, in Hampshire. In 1941 se inroleaza in Royal Engineers si frecventeaza Officers Cadet Training Unit. Ajunge la Bombay in 1943 si calatoreste pana in Calcutta. In aceasta perioada citeste mai multe carti despre Tibet si invata limba tibetana. Dupa ce paraseste armata in 1946, isi da examenele si se inscrie la Queens' College din Cambridge. Dupa absolvire, in 1950, este invitat sa tina un curs de limba tibetana la School of Oriental and Afrian Studies University din Londra. A fost profesor de limba tibetana la aceasta institutie pana in 1982.
Opera (selectiv):
Buddhist Himalaya: travels and studies in quest of the origins and nature of Tibetan religion, 1957;
Himalayan pilgrimage: a study of Tibetan religion by a traveller through Western Nepal, 1961;
The cultural heritage of Ladakh, 1977;
Indo-Tibetan Buddhism: Indian Buddhists and their Tibetan successors, 1987;
Khmer civilization and Angkor, 2001;
Angkor, before and after: a cultural history of the Khmers, 2004;
Religion as History, Religion as Myth, 2006.
