Hall was a Cincinnati businessman with no notable academic background or sailing experience. He previously worked as a blacksmith, engraver, and for a couple of years he published his own newspaper – the "Cincinnati Occasional" (later renamed the "Daily Press" ). Energetic and enterprising, Hall enthusiastically wrote about the latest technological innovations; he was fascinated by hot air balloon travel and praised the new transatlantic telegraph cable. He was also a voracious reader especially captivated by the Arctic. Hall's focus was directed towards the region around 1857, after it had slowly dawned on society that Sir John Franklin's Arctic expedition of 1845, in all likelihood, would never be coming home.