Edward Harper Parker (3 July 1849 – 1926) was an English barrister and sinologist who wrote a number of books on the First and Second Opium Wars and other Chinese topics. On his return to England he ended his career as a university professor.
He was educated at the Royal Institution School, Liverpool, and became a barrister of the Middle Temple. He intended to engage in the tea trade, studied Chinese, and from 1869 to 1871, in the character of student interpreter, he traveled in Mongolia, and afterwards served at the British consulates in Wenchow, Fusan, and Shanghai, and traveled in Oceania, Eastern Asia, and North America. He retired from the consular service in 1895, became reader in Chinese at University College, Liverpool, in 1896, and in 1901 was appointed to a chair in Chinese at Owens College, Manchester.