Edward Halligan was born in 1951, in Newport News, Virginia. His parents lived in Hampton, VA, and after his father completed his studies at what was then the National Institute of Aeronautics, on the G.I. Bill, the family returned to their hometown, Philadelphia. Halligan was educated in parochial schools and is a 1970 graduate of the Northeast Catholic High School for Boys. He received a B.A. at La Salle University and attended graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania. He resides in Philadelphia.