Haliburton, Thomas Chandler

Haliburton, Thomas Chandler
born Dec. 17, 1796, Windsor, Nova Scotia
died Aug. 27, 1865, Isleworth, Middlesex, Eng.

Canadian writer.

He served in the legislature of his native Nova Scotia and later served as a judge of the Supreme Court (1841–54), where he maintained the strong conservatism that informs his writings. He moved to England in 1856 and was a member of Parliament from 1859 until his death. He is best known for creating the character Sam Slick, a Yankee clock peddler and cracker-barrel philosopher whose escapades first appeared in the newspaper Nova Scotian and were later published in The Clockmaker (1836, 1838, 1840) and other volumes.

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▪ Canadian writer
born Dec. 17, 1796, Windsor, Nova Scotia
died Aug. 27, 1865, Isleworth, Middlesex, Eng.

      Canadian writer best known as the creator of Sam Slick, a resourceful Yankee clock peddler and cracker-barrel philosopher whose encounters with a variety of people illuminated Haliburton's view of human nature.

      Haliburton was admitted to the bar in 1820 and, as a member of the Nova Scotia Legislative Assembly (1826–29), led a popular movement for liberal reform. He later reverted to his early Tory convictions and resigned from the Assembly. As a judge of the Supreme Court (1841–54), he maintained the strongly conservative political and social views that inform his writings. In 1856 he moved to England, where he was a member of the House of Commons from 1859 until his death.

      The escapades of Sam Slick were first revealed serially in the newspaper Nova Scotian (1835) but subsequently published in book form (1836, 1838, 1840) as The Clockmaker; or, The Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick of Slickville. The dialogues between Sam Slick and the squire are satirical attacks on the shiftlessness of the Nova Scotians, mobocracy, the levelling tendencies of the age, and Yankee brashness. They are enriched by the tremendous vitality of Sam's colloquial speech and by his fund of anecdotes and tall tales. Many of Sam Slick's sayings, such as “This country is going to the dogs” and “barking up the wrong tree,” have become commonplace in English idiom. Haliburton shifted his attacks to a variety of other topics in his subsequent works: The Attaché; or, Sam Slick in England, 4 vol. (1843–44), Sam Slick's Wise Saws and Modern Instances; or, What He Said, Did, or Invented (1853), and Nature and Human Nature (1855).

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Haliburton, Thomas Chandler — (1796 1865)    Born at Windsor, Nova Scotia. Educated at the Grammar School and at King s College there. Called to the bar and practised for a time at Annapolis. Represented the county of Annapolis in the Nova Scotia Legislature, and in 1829… …   The makers of Canada

  • Haliburton, Thomas Chandler — (17 dic. 1796, Windsor, Nueva Escocia–27 ago. 1865, Isleworth, Middlesex, Inglaterra). Escritor canadiense. Se desempeñó en la legislatura de su Nueva Escocia natal, para luego ser designado juez de la Corte Suprema (1841–54), donde fue un… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • HALIBURTON, THOMAS CHANDLER —    Nova Scotian judge and author, born at Windsor, Nova Scotia; was called to the bar in 1820, and soon after was elected a member of the House of Assembly; in 1840 he became Judge of the Supreme Court, and two years later retired to England,… …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Haliburton, Thomas Chandler — (1796 1865)    B. at Windsor, Nova Scotia, was a lawyer, and rose to be Judge of the Supreme Court of the Colony. He was the author of The Clock maker, or Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick of Slickville, and a continuation, The Attaché, or Sam… …   Short biographical dictionary of English literature

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  • Thomas Chandler Haliburton — (December 17, 1796 ndash; 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… …   Wikipedia

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  • Haliburton — (Thomas Chandler) (1796 1865), homme politique et écrivain canadien d expression anglaise. Il doit sa notoriété à des romans humoristiques: The Clockmaker (3 vol., 1836 1840) …   Encyclopédie Universelle

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