Samuel Kinns was born on November 14, 1825, in Colchester, Essex, England.

He was an educator, clergyman, Christian apologist, and author. He was educated at Colchester grammar school and then privately. In 1856, he founded a boys' school, The College, Highbury New Park. He remained its proprietor and principal until 1885. In 1859, he became a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and received a Ph.D. from the University of Jena, Germany. In 1885, he was ordained deacon in the Church of England. Ordained priest in 1886, he became vicar of Holy Trinity, Minories, retiring in 1899. Kinns came to public notice in 1882 when he published "Moses and Geology", a detailed attempt to harmonize the creation account of Genesis with the latest scientific theories of discovered fossil remains. It evoked criticism from scientific and biblical experts and he gave lectures in his defense. Since 1878 he lectured in the British Museum on the support of biblical history by the Egyptian and Assyrian monuments. This became the subject of his second popular book, "Graven in the Rock" (1891).

He died on July 14, 1903, in London, England.