Henry Shaler Williams was born on March 6, 1847, in Ithaca, New York.

He was a geologist and educator. He graduated from Yale University in 1868. He also studied with Louis Agassiz at Cornell University and was granted a Ph.D. degree in 1871. He became Professor of Natural History at the University of Kentucky in 1871. Williams spent the next eight years in business with his father in Ithaca, New York, until joining the Cornell University faculty in 1880. From 1892 to 1904, he was a Sillman Professor of Geology at Yale University and a Professor of Geology at Cornell University from 1904 until 1912, when he was named Emeritus Professor. In 1886, he became a member of Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Honor Society and, in 1888, he joined the Geological Society of America. His name will always be associated with the development of American paleontology, especially with the American Devonian. He was credited with naming the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian sub-periods in 1891. His research work in Cuba resulted in the development of oil fields on the island. As a teacher, Williams exercised a great influence in the encouragement of his students in research. He was also the author of numerous works on geology.

In 1871, he married Harriet Hart Wilcox (1849–1932). He died on July 31, 1918, in Havana, Cuba.