David Rogers was born in Boston, Massachusetts on April 17, 1930. He received a bachelor's degree and a doctorate in sociology from Harvard University. In 1959, he became an assistant professor of sociology at Columbia University. He then joined the faculty of New York University, where he taught for four decades. He wrote several books including 110 Livingston Street: Politics and Bureaucracy in the New York City School System. He died from prostate cancer on February 27, 2019 at the age of 88.