Thomas McCulloch (September 1775 – September 9, 1843) was a Scottish-born, Presbyterian minister, author, educator, and education reformer. He was the founder and principal of Pictou Academy (pronounced pick-toe) and the first principal of Dalhousie College (now Dalhousie University) from 1838–1843. He is the author of The Stepsure Letters (1821-1823), considered to be the first major work of English Canada humour.

Thomas McCulloch was born in Ferenese in the parish of Neilston in Renfrewshire (now East Renfrewshire), Scotland, the fourth child and second son of Elizabeth Neilson and Michael McCulloch and baptised on September 10, 1775. Michael McCulloch, a master block printer, died at age forty-six, leaving six children, five sons and one daughter, Andrew (d. April 8, 1854), John, Thomas, Mary Elizabeth (1765 – 1860), William (1776 – 1813), and George.

Elizabeth Neilson emigrated along with her family in 1803 to Nova Scotia. John died while sailing from Halifax to Pictou, Nova Scotia, William taught in the school at Pictou, and George, the youngest son, a cabinet maker, also lived in Pictou.

Elizabeth appears to have been a well-loved figure in the family, as Thomas McCulloch's wife, Isabella Walker, writes on Elizabeth's death,

Well was it for me that I was blessed with the example and motherly affection of our good old grandmother, in many unthought of trials in the land of strangers, and I fondly hope that the many, many, precious petitions presented at her Father's throne on our behalf will not remain without a special, a powerful return of saving mercy to our souls as a family, and as individuals. We were all near her heart, especially our eternal interests.

Thomas' son, William, writes of his grandmother,

Our annual gatherings at her house were a great treat, and nothing remains of our early recollections to dim the brightness of her character.

Little else is known of Thomas McCulloch's life prior to attending university.