Donald Fraser was born on January 15, 1826, in Inverness, Scotland.
He was a Presbyterian clergyman and author. He was educated at the University of Aberdeen (M.A., 1842), and studied divinity at Knox College, Toronto, and New College, Edinburgh. In 1851, he was ordained as a minister of the Presbyterian Church in Canada; and from 1851 to 1859 he was minister of the Coté Street Presbyterian Church in Montreal. In 1859, he accepted a call to the Free High Church of Inverness, Scotland, and in 1870, he became minister of the Marylebone Presbyterian Church in London, England. He was also prominently connected with many missions and charities and was a vice-president of the British and Foreign Bible Society. In 1872, he received the honorary degree of D.D. from the University of Aberdeen. Fraser was the author of many works on theology, notably "Synoptical Lectures on the Books of Holy Scripture" (2 vols., 1871–1876). While in Canada he published “Leaves from a minister's portfolio” (1858).
In 1852, he married Theresa Eliza Isabella Gordon (1830–1909). He died on February 12, 1892, in London, England.