Edward Shortland (1812–1893) was a New Zealand medical doctor, administrator, scholar and linguist.
He was educated at Exeter grammar school and at Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A.
[1] In 1841 Shortland went out, apparently at his brother's suggestion, to New Zealand, where on 28 June 1841 he was appointed private secretary to Governor William Hobson.
He then practised medicine for many years in New Zealand, and subsequently lived for some time at Parnell.
[1] Shortland name is mostly identified with the relations between the English and the Maori in the earlier days of settlement.