C. B. Lister

Lister was born on July 4, 1898, in Wilmington, Delaware to James W. and Florence (Carson) Lister.^[1] He became involved in sports shooting while a member of the Boy Scouts of America.^[2] After graduating from Wilmington High School, he worked under Kellogg Casey in the sales and promotions department of DuPont.^[2][3] In 1917, Lister joined the United States Army and remained there until the end of World War I.^[2] On October 22, 1919, he married Lynette Harper.^[2] They had one daughter.^[4]

In 1921, Lister moved to Washington D.C. to become the advertising and promotion manager of the National Rifle Association.^[1] He recommended expanding NRA membership outside the United States Armed Forces and state militias and under his leadership, membership grew from 3,500 in 1921 to over 10,000 in 1925.^[2]

In 1926, he became the organization's secretary–treasurer and led a drive that increased membership to 350,000 by 1945.^[5] He also served as editor of the NRA's monthly magazine, the American Rifleman, was a contributor to the Encyclopædia Britannica, and edited the sections on rifles and marksmanship in Webster's International Dictionary.^[5] He was a leader in the fight against laws restricting firearm ownership, but did support some gun control measurers, including the National Firearms Act and the Federal Firearms Act of 1938.^[6]

Due to a prior bout of tuberculosis, Lister was rejected for active military service during World War II.^[4] He instead served as the national coordinator of rifle shooting in the Office of Civilian Defense.^[2] He also helped draft the first manual on home guard organization.^[7]

In 1949, Lister succeeded the retiring Milton Reckord as executive director of the NRA.^[4] He died of brain cancer on May 14, 1951, at the Washington Sanitarium.^[5][4] He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.^[4]

Following his death, a memorial trophy was presented. Since 1952 it has been awarded for the National Indoor Sectional-National Smallbore Rifle Champion.^[8]