Randolph Rogers was born in Waterloo, N.Y., in 1825, but raised in Ann Arbor, Mich. His father was a carpenter and millwright.

His earliest works to gain attention were a series of woodcuts that were published in the Michigan Argus, a local newspaper. He worked various jobs, at a bakery, as a cook and at a dry good store, but yearned for a career in art. In 1847, he pursued that dream by moving to New York City, where he sought a job as an engraver. He wasn't successful and took a series of miscellaneous jobs, but continued to draw in his free time.

In 1848, he held an exhibition of his works, and his employers were so impressed, they paid to send him to Florence, Italy, to study at the Accademia di San Marco. There, he became a student of Italian sculptor Lorenzo Bartolini. After Bartolini’s death in 1850, Rogers moved to Rome and opened a studio.

He returned to New York in 1854, where he set up a studio at the National Academy of Design. He quickly won a series of commissions, including a statue of John Adams for Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Mass., that is now displayed at Harvard University. Just five years after launching his career as a sculptor, he was tapped to create the Columbus doors for the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, which were installed in 1862.

Rogers returned to Rome in 1855, and became a major player in a community of American sculptors living in Rome.

In 1858, the University of Michigan commissioned Rogers to create the sculpture "Nydia, the Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii." When it was delivered in 1861, it not only became one of the earliest marble sculptures in the state, but the university added an annex to University Hall in which to display it. Today, the sculpture is on display at the university's Museum of Art. Nydia would be a frequent muse of Rogers', as he sculpted her more than 50 times. Nydia was a character in Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s 1834 novel "The Last Days of Pompeii."

Following the Civil War, Rogers was selected for a number of monuments, including one of Abraham Lincoln for Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, and Civil War monuments for Campus Martius in Detroit, as well as others for Cincinnati; Worcester, Mass.; and the Gettysburg Battlefield National Historic Park.

In 1873, he became the first American academician and professor of sculpture at the Accademia di San Luca, and was knighted in 1884 King Umberto I of Italy.

He passed away in Rome in 1892 at age 66.