Thomas Chandler Haliburton (December 17, 1796 – August 27, 1865) was one of the first major Canadian authors.

Haliburton was born in Windsor, Nova Scotia to an upper class family. He attended University of King's College in Windsor and became a lawyer, opening a practice in Annapolis Royal. While in England, he met Louisa Neville whom he married and broguht back to Nova Scotia. They had seven children (two boys and five girls), though there are no known descendants of Haliburton.

Haliburton became noted local business man and a judge, but his great fame came from his writing. He wrote a diverse number of books on history, politics, and farm improvement. He rose to world wide fame with his Clockmaker serial that first appeared in the Novascotian and was later published in book form throughout the British Empire. The books recounted the humorous adventures of the character Sam Slick and became extremely popular light reading.

In 1840, Louisa died. Haliburton, now a widower, soon retired from law, and in 1856, moved to England. In that same year, while in England, he remarried to one Sarah Harriet Williams. Before long, Haliburton had received an honorary degree from Oxford and became, for awhile, a Member of Parliament. He and continued writing until his death in 1865 at his home in Isleworth.

Works

• A General Description of Nova Scotia - 1823
• An Historical and Statistical Account of Nova Scotia - 1829
• The Clockmaker - 1836
• The Clockmaker, 2nd Series - 1838
• The Bubbles of Canada - 1839
• A Reply to the Report of the Earl of Durham - 1839
• The Clockmaker, 3rd Series - 1840
• The Old Judge, Or Life in a Colony - 1849
• The English in America - 1851
• Rule and Misrule in English America - 1851