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. Hal was born Harold Lister in

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a 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 city centre, north-west of Bi ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, 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 UK public university, public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is ...

). 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 United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

after learning to fly. He went to

Fitzwilliam College Fitzwilliam College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college traces its origins back to 1869 and the foundation of the Non-Collegiate Students Board, a venture intended to offer academically excellent students of all ...

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in 1950 to do research in the Department of Geography, interrupted by his participation as a glaciologist in the British North Greenland Expedition, 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 ...

. 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 it has more than ten million members and sup ...

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, climato ...

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