Portrait of John Lister Wellcome L0034575

John Lister (8 March 1847 – 12 October 1933) was an English philanthropist and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. John Lister was born in

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, Middlesex, to John and Louisa Ann (née Grant) Lister. He had two younger siblings named Charles and Anne. They were related to nineteenth-century diarist

Anne Lister Anne Lister (3 April 1791 – 22 September 1840) was an English diarist, famous for revelations for which she was dubbed "the first modern lesbian". Lister was from a minor landowning family at Shibden in Calderdale, West Riding of Yorkshire ...

. Lister grew up in Sandown on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

and Halifax in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

. He attended

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

, then Brasenose College at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

and finally

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, where he qualified as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

. Lister was influenced by the

Oxford Movement The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of O ...

and in 1871 joined the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. In 1873, he was elected to Halifax Town Council for the Liberal Party. In 1882, he founded the

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. Increasingly influenced by

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, Lister joined the Fabian Society in 1891. He was a founder member of the

Halifax Labour Union {{one source, date=April 2019 The Halifax Labour Union was an early labour movement organisation in Halifax in England. The organisation originated as the Halifax branch of the Labour Electoral Association (LEA), formed in mid-1891. It received ...

, for which he was re-elected to the Town Council in 1892. He joined the Independent Labour Party (ILP) on its formation the following year, becoming its first treasurer. Lister stood for the group at the

1893 Halifax by-election Events January–March * January 2 – Webb C. Ball introduces railroad chronometers, which become the general railroad timepiece standards in North America. * Mark Twain started writing Puddn'head Wilson. * January 6 – Th ...

, taking 25% of the votes cast. He again stood for Halifax at the 1895 general election, but fared less well, and left the ILP and his elected posts in 1895.

Deciphering and preserving Anne Lister's diaries

In his remaining years, Lister focused on managing his estate at Shibden Hall and on

local history Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context, often concentrating on a relatively small local community. It incorporates cultural and social aspects of history. Local history is not merely national history writ small bu ...

. With his friend Arthur Burrell he deciphered the code used by his ancestor Anne Lister in her diaries. When the content of the secret passages was revealed, Burrell advised John Lister to burn all the diaries. Lister did not take this advice, but instead continued to hide Anne Lister's diaries behind a panel at Shibden Hall. In 2011, Anne Lister's diaries were added to the

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of the

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Memory of the World Programme. The register citation notes that, while a valuable account of the times, it was the "comprehensive and painfully honest account of lesbian life and reflections on her nature, however, which have made these diaries unique. They have shaped and continue to shape the direction of UK Gender Studies and Women's History."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lister, John (UK politician) 1847 births 1933 deaths British Roman Catholics Converts to Roman Catholicism English Roman Catholics Independent Labour Party National Administrative Committee members Liberal Party (UK) politicians People from Halifax, West Yorkshire People from Sandown Councillors in Calderdale English philanthropists