Biography

Basil Hall was an officer in the Royal Navy from 1802 to 1823. He travelled a great deal and wrote about his experiences in various books on Korea (1818), Chile, Peru, and Mexico (1824) and North America (1829). He was the son of Sir James Hall of Dunglass Baronet and the Honourable Lady Helen Douglas. Basil was also a member of a variety of prestigious societies, including the Royal Society, the Royal Geological Society, and the Royal Geographical Society. He died in 1844 of nervous exhaustion in the Royal Hospital at Haslar, Gosport on the south coast of England.