Thomas Chesmer Weston was born on October 17, 1832, in Birmingham, England.

He was a geologist and paleontologist. He arrived in Montreal, Quebec, in 1859 at the request of Sir William Logan to join the Geological Survey of Canada. He became not only an expert in fossil collecting but also the first Survey librarian. During his 35-year career at the Survey, Weston went on field excursions nearly every summer all over Canada, sometimes to collect minerals but often to find fossils. In 1888, after the discovery of Albertosaurus, he came to Red Deer River Valley to collect dinosaur bones. He was elected a Fellow of the Geological Society of America. In 1899, he published his memoir "Reminiscences Among the Rocks”. Weston School in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is named in his honour.

In 1860, he married Matilda Allen (1837–1903). He died on July 20, 1910 or 1911, in Quebec City, Quebec.