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Basil Hall, RN: Toe the Line

In the early 1802, a well-educated young man named Basil Hall joined the British Royal Navy and started traveling extensively.  His voyages were sometimes military, sometimes scientific, and he saw much more of the world than most people of his day did, or even of the modern day.  His education was encouraged by his father, who also suggested that he keep diaries of all he saw and did.   This habit had been impressed upon him when he was a boy, before he ever set sail, and he kept it up all his life. It was quite a life to keep notes on, too.  Hall was present for a lot of the action during the Napoleonic Wars, including the Battle of Waterloo.  In 1817, two years after the wars ended, Hall had the opportunity to interview Napoleon Bonaparte himself at the deposed emperor’s home/prison on St. Helena.  He explored Korea, Japan, Java, Peru, South Africa, and other far-flung locales, making copious notes along the way.   His scientific research included rock formations in the