Robert Thomas Jones was born on October 1, 1819, in Woolwich, Kent, England.

He was an English geologist, paleontologist, and author. While at a private school in Ilminster, he became interested in geology because of the abundant fossils found in the Lias quarries. He was apprenticed as a surgeon from 1835 to 1842 and worked as a medical assistant from 1842 to 1850. From 1850 to 1862, he served as assistant secretary, curator, and librarian to the Geological Society of London. In 1862, he became Professor of Geology at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He also served as Professor of Geology at the nearby Staff College, Camberley, a post he held until retirement in 1882. As a specialist in microfossils, he became the highest authority in Britain on the Foraminifera and Entomostraca. In 1864, he founded the Geological Magazine with Dr. Henry Woodward of the British Museum's Geological Department. Jones was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1872 and was awarded the Lyell Medal by the Geological Society in 1890. For many years he was especially interested in the geology of South Africa. He was the author and editor of several monographs on fossils and also published numerous articles in many geological journals.

He was married twice; firstly, to Mary, daughter of William Harris of Charing, Kent, and secondly to Charlotte Ashburnham, daughter of Archibald Archer. He died on April 13, 1911, in Chesham Bois, Buckinghamshire, England.