R. G. (Robert Grant) Haliburton

Born in Windsor, Nova Scotia, in 1831, Robert Grant Haliburton was the son of Thomas Chandler Haliburton, the judge and writer behind the "Sam Slick" stories. He studied at King’s College, was called to the bar in 1853, and built a career as a lawyer while also serving in militia life and taking part in public affairs.

Haliburton wrote on Nova Scotia history, politics, and his father’s life, and he became known as a prolific lecturer and author. He also pursued anthropology outside formal academic structures, publishing speculative work on migration, race, and ancient peoples that attracted attention in his day.

He remains a notable but complicated figure. Haliburton helped found the Canada First movement and argued that English Canadians were the heirs of northern "Aryan" peoples, ideas tied to exclusionary nationalism and racism. He died in 1901 in Pass Christian, Mississippi.