Sir Edmund Walker Head was born on February 16, 1805, in Wiarton Place, near Maidstone, Kent, England.

He was a British politician and diplomat. He was educated at Winchester College and Oriel College, Oxford, and in 1830, he was made a Fellow of Merton College. He was an Oxford scholar and tutor who published several books, e.g., “The Story of Viga Glum” (1866), which he had translated from the original Icelandic. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1863. In 1847, Head was appointed Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick (1847–1854). While Lieutenant Governor, he authorized the creation of an engineering faculty at the University of New Brunswick. This was the first such programme in what would become Canada. In 1854, he was appointed Governor-General of the Province of Canada and served until 1861. During his time in office, there was some controversy over his refusal to grant a dissolution to the Reform ministry at the time of the "Double Shuffle". He was appointed a Privy Councillor in 1857, and Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1860. Sir Edmund Head Hall is the name of the engineering building at the University of New Brunswick. Edmundston, New Brunswick, is named after him.

In 1838, he married Lady Anna Maria Yorke (1808–1890). He died on January 28, 1868, in London, England.