[1][2] He was born in Hamilton, Ontario to Robert Daniel and Caroline Vandeleur Bensley.
[3] He was best known for his work on marsupials and a standard text Practical Anatomy of the Rabbit.
In 1903 he returned to the University of Toronto as a lecturer and in 1914 was made head of the Biology Department.
[3] He was the first director of the Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology, appointed on its founding in October 1913.
He was survived by his wife, Ruth Horton, and his son, Dr. Edward Bensley.