John Strong Newberry was born on December 22, 1822, in Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut.

He was an American physician, geologist, paleontologist, and author. In 1824, he moved with his family to Ohio where his father opened a coal mining business. The fossils found in the coal deposits stimulated his interest in science. He graduated from Western Reserve College (1846) and Cleveland Medical School (1848). He spent the next two years studying medicine and natural history in Paris, France. Upon his return in 1851, he established a successful medical practice in Cleveland. As a geologist and naturalist, he participated in several exploring expeditions (land between San Francisco and Columbia River, 1855; the Colorado River, 1857-1858; Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico, 1859). He was the first geologist known to visit the Grand Canyon. He was appointed professor at Columbian (now George Washington) University in 1857. Newberry was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1860. In 1861, he was elected a member of the US Sanitary Commission. In 1866, he was appointed the chair of geology and paleontology in the School of Mines, Columbia College (now Columbia University), and held this position for 24 years. In 1867, he was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society. He served as president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, president of the New York Academy of Sciences, and president of the Torrey Botanical Club. In 1888, he helped found the Geological Society of America and was elected an Associate Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was awarded the Murchison Medal of the Geological Society of London in 1888. He contributed over 200 papers and articles to various periodicals. Newberry Pond, a glacial lake in New York, and Newberry Crater in Oregon are named in his honor.

In 1848, he married Sarah Brownell Gaylord (1823–1899). He died on December 7, 1892, in New Haven, Connecticut.