Hal Lister (1 May 192124 February 2010) was a British

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

and

Arctic explorer Arctic exploration is the physical exploration of the Arctic region of the Earth. It refers to the historical period during which mankind has explored the region north of the Arctic Circle. Historical records suggest that humankind have explored ...

. Hal was born Harold Lister in

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford, n ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, and was educated at Keighley Grammar School and King's College (which later became

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick university and a mem ...

). In 1948, Hal guided a small group of

Geography undergraduates on a pioneering overseas expedition to Iceland. Hal joined the Merchant Navy, but transferred to the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

after learning to fly. He went to

Fitzwilliam College Fitzwilliam College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college has origins from 1869, with the foundation of the Non-Collegiate Students Board, a venture intended to offer academically excellent students of all ...

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 1950 to do research in the Department of Geography, interrupted by his participation as a glaciologist in the

British North Greenland Expedition The British North Greenland expedition was a British scientific mission, led by Commander James Simpson RN, which lasted from July 1952 to August 1954. A total of 30 men took part, though not all stayed for both years. The purpose of BNGE was pr ...

, 1952–1954. His Ph.D. was awarded in 1956. Hal was a glaciologist during the

Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition The Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition (CTAE) of 1955–1958 was a Commonwealth-sponsored expedition that successfully completed the first overland crossing of Antarctica, via the South Pole. It was the first expedition to reach the South ...

, 1955-1958. During this expedition led by Sir Vivian Fuchs he helped to develop maps of the

Weddell Sea The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and contains the Weddell Gyre. Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. The easternmost point is Cape Norvegia at Princess Martha C ...

. Hal's last post was as a reader at the School of Geography,

. Hal formerly retired in 1986, but continued to travel widely and meet in academic circles until the last few years before he died on 24 February 2010. One of his later interests was

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

Education

* Keighley Grammar School * King's College (which later became

) *

Scholarship

In academic circles Hal was perhaps best known for his

glaciology Glaciology (; ) is the scientific study of glaciers, or, more generally, ice and natural phenomena that involve ice. Glaciology is an interdisciplinary Earth science that integrates geophysics, geology, physical geography, geomorphology, clim ...

and his exploration story telling. He was an active member of th
International Glaciology Society
for many years. Hal's enthusiasm for exploration was expressed in his involvement with th
Young Explorers’ Trust
the

British Schools Exploring Society The British Exploring Society is a UK-based youth development charity based at the Royal Geographical Society building, aiming to provide young people with an intense and lasting experience of self-discovery in wilderness environments. History The ...

, the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

and th
Brathay Exploration Society
The Origin of Ice Marginal Terraces and Contact Ridges of East Kangerdluarssuk Glacier, SW Greenland David Huddart and Hal Lister Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography, Vol. 63, No. 1/2 (1981), pp. 31–39 Published by: Wiley on behalf of the Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography Article Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/520562

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lister, Hal British geographers Academics of Newcastle University Alumni of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Alumni of Newcastle University Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society 1921 births 2010 deaths Place of birth missing