Clements Markham | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Markham in 1905 | |
| President of theRoyal Geographical Society | |
| In office 29 May 1893 – 22 May 1905 (1893-05-29 –1905-05-22) | |
| Preceded by | Sir Mountstuart Duff |
| Succeeded by | Sir George Goldie |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Clements Robert Markham (1830-07-20)20 July 1830 Stillingfleet, York, England |
| Died | 30 January 1916(1916-01-30) (aged 85) London, Middlesex, England |
| Spouse | |
| Parent | David Frederick Markham |
| Relatives | Sir Albert Markham (cousin) |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Explorer, geographer, writer |
| Awards | |
| Signature | .png) |
| Military service | |
| Branch | Royal Navy |
| Service years | 1844–1852 |
| Rank | Midshipman |
| Ships | Collingwood,Assistance |
| Expeditions | Austin expedition (1850) |
Sir Clements Robert MarkhamKCB FRS FRSGS (20 July 1830 – 30 January 1916) was an English geographer, explorer and writer. He was secretary of theRoyal Geographical Society (RGS) between 1863 and 1888,[1][2] and later served as the Society's president for a further 12 years. In the latter capacity he was mainly responsible for organising theBritish National Antarctic Expedition of 1901–1904, and for launching the polar career ofRobert Falcon Scott.
Markham began his career as aRoyal Navy cadet andmidshipman, during which time he went to theArctic withHMS Assistance in one of the many searches forFranklin's lost expedition. Later, Markham served as a geographer to theIndia Office, and was responsible for the collection ofcinchona plants from their native Peruvian forests, and their transplantation in India. By this means, the Indian government acquired a home source from whichquinine could be extracted. Markham also served as geographer to SirRobert Napier's Abyssinian expeditionary force, and was present in 1868, at thefall of Magdala.
The main achievement of Markham's RGS presidency was the revival at the end of the 19th century of British interest in Antarctic exploration, after a 50-year interval. He had strong and determined ideas about how the National Antarctic Expedition should be organised, and fought hard to ensure that it was run primarily as a naval enterprise, under Scott's command. To do this he overcame hostility and opposition from much of the scientific community. In the years following the expedition he continued to champion Scott's career, to the extent of disregarding or disparaging the achievements of other contemporary explorers.
All his life Markham was a constant traveller and a prolific writer, his works including histories, travel accounts and biographies. He authored many papers and reports for the RGS, and did much editing and translation work for theHakluyt Society, of which he also became president in 1890.[1] He received public and academic honours, and was recognised as a major influence on the discipline of geography, although it was acknowledged that much of his work was based on enthusiasm rather than scholarship. Among the geographical features bearing his name is Antarctica'sMount Markham, named after him by Scott in 1902.
Markham was born on 20 July 1830, atStillingfleet, now in North Yorkshire, the second son of the ReverendDavid Frederick Markham, thenvicar of Stillingfleet. The family were descendants ofWilliam Markham, formerArchbishop of York[3] and royal tutor; thisCourt connection led to David Markham's appointment, in 1827, as an honorarycanon ofWindsor.[4]Markham's mother Catherine, née Milner, was the daughter of SirWilliam Milner, 4th Baronet, ofNun Appleton Hall, Yorkshire.[5]
In 1838, David Markham was appointedrector ofGreat Horkesley, nearColchester, Essex.[6] A year later, Clements began his schooling, first atCheam School, and later atWestminster School. Reportedly an apt pupil, he showed particular interest in geology and astronomy, and from an early age he wrote prolifically, an activity which filled much of his spare time.[6] At Westminster, which he found "a wonderful and delightful place", he developed a particular interest in boating, often acting ascoxswain in races on theRiver Thames.[7]
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In May 1844, Markham was introduced by his aunt, the Countess of Mansfield, to Rear Admiral SirGeorge Seymour, aLord of the Admiralty. The boy made a favourable impression on the admiral, and the meeting led to the offer of a cadetship in theRoyal Navy. Accordingly, on 28 June 1844, Markham travelled toPortsmouth to join Seymour's flagship,HMS Collingwood.Collingwood was being fitted out for an extended voyage to the Pacific Ocean where Seymour was to assume command of the Pacific station.[8] This tour of duty lasted for almost four years. The ship reached the Chilean port ofValparaíso, the headquarters of the Pacific station on 15 December 1844, after a cruise that incorporated visits toRio de Janeiro and theFalkland Islands, and a stormy passage in theSouthern Ocean.[9] Markham's social connections assured him of a relatively comfortable time; he was frequently invited to dine with the admiral, whose wife and daughters were on board.[9]
After a few weeks' respite in Valparaiso,Collingwood sailed again, this time forCallao, the main port on the Peruvian coast, giving Markham his first experience of a country that would figure prominently in his later career.[10] During the next two yearsCollingwood cruised in the Pacific, visiting theSandwich Islands, Mexico, andTahiti, where Markham attempted to assist the nationalist rebels against their French governor.[11] On 25 June 1846, Markham passed the examination formidshipman, being placed third in a group of ten. The long periods spent in Chilean and Peruvian ports had also enabled him to learn Spanish.[5]
Towards the end of the voyage, Markham experienced growing doubts about a conventional naval career; he now desired above all to be an explorer and a geographer. On arrival in Portsmouth in July 1848 he informed his father of his wish to leave the navy, but was persuaded to stay.[12] After a brief period of service in the Mediterranean Markham experienced months of inactivity while based atSpithead and theCove of Cork, which further diminished his interest in the service.[13] However, early in 1850, he learned that a squadron of four ships was being assembled to undertake a new search for the lost Arctic expedition of SirJohn Franklin.[14] Markham used his family's influence to secure a place in this venture, and in April 1850, was informed of his appointment toHMS Assistance, one of the squadron's two principal vessels.[15]
SirJohn Franklin had left England in May 1845 with two ships,HMS Erebus andHMS Terror, in search of theNorthwest Passage between theAtlantic andPacific Oceans. The expedition was last seen on 29 July, bywhalers in the northern waters ofBaffin Bay, moored to anice floe and waiting for the chance to sail westward.[16]
The hunt for the missing ships began two years later. The relief squadron which Markham joined was commanded by CaptainHoratio Austin inHMS Resolute. Markham's shipAssistance was captained byErasmus Ommanney.[17] Markham, as the youngest member of the expedition and its only midshipman, had a limited role, but carefully noted every detail of expedition life in his journal. The ships sailed on 4 May 1850.[18]
After rounding the southernmost point of Greenland on 28 May, the squadron proceeded northwards until stopped by ice inMelville Bay on 25 June.[19] They were held here until 18 August, when they were finally able to proceed west intoLancaster Sound, the known route taken by Franklin. Here the ships dispersed to search different areas for signs of the vanished expedition. On 23 August, Ommanney sighted acairn, and discovered packing materials nearby which bore the name of "Goldner", Franklin's canned meat supplier. Together with other odds and ends of abandoned equipment, these fragments were the first traces of Franklin that anyone had found.[19] A few days later, onBeechey Island, the party came across three graves, which proved to be those of members of Franklin's crew who had died between January and April 1846.[19]
Searches continued until the ships were laid up for the long Arctic winter. During this enforced rest there were lectures and classes for the crew, and various theatrical diversions in which Markham was able to display his "great histrionic talent".[20] He did much reading, mainly Arctic history and classical literature, and thought about a possible return visit to Peru, a country which had captivated him during theCollingwood voyage.[20] When spring returned, a series of sledging expeditions was launched to search for further signs of the missing crews. Markham played a full part in these activities,[21] which produced no further evidence of Franklin, but led to the mapping of hundreds of miles of previously uncharted coast.[22] The expedition returned to England in early October 1851.[23]
Immediately on his return to England, Markham informed his father of his determination to leave the navy. One of the reasons for his disaffection was the severity of the corporal punishment that was constantly administered for what in his view were trivial offences. He had been in trouble during hisCollingwood service for attempting to prevent the flogging of a crewman.[24] He had also become disenchanted by the idleness that had occupied long periods of his service. With some regret the elder Markham consented to his son's request, and after taking and passing the gunnery part of the examination for the rank of lieutenant, Markham resigned from the service at the end of 1851.[25]
In the summer of 1852, freed from his naval obligations, Markham made plans for an extended visit to Peru. Supported by a gift from his father of £500 (more than £40,000 at 2008 values)[26] to cover expenses, Markham sailed fromLiverpool on 20 August.[25]
Markham travelled by a roundabout route, proceeding first toHalifax, Nova Scotia, then overland toBoston and New York, before taking a steamer toPanama. After crossing theisthmus of Panama, he sailed for Callao, finally arriving there on 16 October. He set out for the Peruvian interior on 7 December 1852, heading across theAndes towards his goal, the ancientInca city ofCuzco.[27] On the way, Markham paused for nearly a month in the town ofAyacucho, to study the local culture and increase his knowledge of theQuechua people. He then travelled on towards Cuzco, and after crossing a swinging bridge—the Apurimac Bridge—suspended 300 feet (91 m) above the ragingApurímac River, he and his party passed through fertile valleys which brought them finally to the city of Cuzco, on 20 March 1853.[28]
Markham remained in the city for several weeks, researching Inca history, describing in his journal the many buildings and ruins that he visited. During the course of an excursion to nearby towns and ruins he reached the area of San Miguel, La Mar, Ayacucho, where he first learned of the properties of thecinchona plant, a source ofquinine, cultivated in that vicinity.[29] He finally left Cuzco on 18 May, accompanied by a party of six who, like him, were returning to Lima. Their journey took them southwards, descending the mountains to the city ofArequipa, a former Spanish colonial settlement with a mixture of native and European architecture.[30] The city is overlooked by the conical volcanoMount Misti, which Markham likened toMount Fuji in Japan. On 23 June, the party reached Lima, where Markham learned of the death of his father. He departed for England, where he arrived on 17 September.[31]
The idea of introducing cinchona to India was first made in 1813, by W. Ainslie, and, years later, in 1839, John Forbes Royle suggested that it could be tried in the Nilgiris. The Indian government was spending £7000 a year around 1852 when Royle made a proposal to introduce cinchona to India.[32] By coincidence Markham was a civil servant in theIndia Office, and in 1859 he made proposals to his employers for a scheme for collecting cinchona trees from the Peruvian and Bolivian Andes, and transplanting them to selected sites in India. Cinchona bark, a source of quinine, was the first known treatment formalaria and other tropical diseases.[33] These plans were approved and Markham was placed in charge of the operation.[34]
Markham and his team, which included the botanistRichard Spruce and his future brother-in-law, the New ZealanderCharles Bowen,[35] left England for Peru in December 1859, arriving in Lima late in January 1860. There was danger in their enterprise; Peru and Bolivia were on the verge of war, and Markham's party soon experienced the hostility of Peruvian interests anxious to protect their control over the cinchona trade.[36] This limited his sphere of operations, and prevented him from obtaining specimens of the best quality.[37] Later Markham overcame bureaucratic obstruction to obtain the necessary export licences.[38]
Markham returned briefly to England before sailing to India, to select suitable sites for cinchona plantations there and in Burma (nowMyanmar) andCeylon.[39] Although many of the Indian plantations failed to flourish and were soon destroyed by insects,[34] others survived, and were augmented by species obtained by Spruce which were more suited to Indian conditions.[37] Twenty years after the first plantations the annual cinchona bark crop from India was estimated at 490,000 pounds (220,000 kg). For his work in introducing cinchona to India, Markham received a grant of £3,000 (over £200,000 in 2008 terms)[26] from the British Government.[40]
After the death of his father in 1853 Markham needed paid employment, and in December 1853 secured a junior clerkship in the Legacy Duty Office of theInland Revenue at a salary of £90 per annum (around £6,000 in 2008).[26] He found the work tedious, but after six months was able to transfer to the forerunner of what became, in 1857, theIndia Office. Here, the work was interesting and rewarding, with sufficient time to allow him to travel and pursue his geographical interests.[41]
In April 1857, Markham married Minna Chichester, who accompanied him on the cinchona mission to Peru and India. Their only child, a daughter Mary Louise (known as May), was born in 1859.[42] As part of his India Office duties Markham investigated and reported to the Indian government on the introduction of Peruvian cotton into theMadras Presidency, on the growth ofipecacuanha in Brazil and the possibilities for cultivating this medicinal plant in India, and on the future of the pearl industry atTirunelveli in Southern India.[43] He was also involved in an ambitious plan for the transplanting of Brazilian rubber trees, claiming that he would "do for the india-rubber or caoutchouc-yielding trees what had already been done with such happy results for the cinchona trees."[44] This scheme was not, however, successful.[44]
In 1867, Markham was selected to accompany Sir Robert Napier's military expeditionary force toAbyssinia, as the expedition's geographer.[45] This force was despatched by the British government as a response to actions taken by the AbyssinianKing Theodore. In 1862, the king had written to the British government requesting help to modernise his nation, and proposing the appointment of an ambassador, which the British had previously suggested.[46] Unwilling to risk its monopoly of cotton in Egypt, the British government did not reply. The king reacted to this slight and other snubs by seizing and imprisoning the British consul and his staff, and ordered the arrest and whipping of a missionary who had insulted the king's mother.[46] A belated reply to the king's letter resulted in the capture and incarceration of the deputation that brought it.[46] After efforts at conciliation failed, the British decided to settle the matter by sending a military expedition. Because the geography of the country was so little known, it was decided that an experienced traveller with map-making skills should accompany the force, hence Markham's appointment.[45]
Napier's troops arrived atAnnesley Bay in theRed Sea, early in 1868. Markham was attached to the force's headquarters staff, with responsibility for general survey work and in particular the selection of the route toMagdala, the king's mountain stronghold. Markham also acted as the party's naturalist, reporting on the species of wildlife encountered during the 400-mile (640 km) march southward from the coast.[45] He accompanied Napier to the walls of Magdala, which was stormed on 10 April 1868. As the king's forces charged down the mountain to meet Napier's advancing troops Markham recorded: "TheSnider–Enfield rifles kept up a fire no Abyssinian troops could stand. They were mown down in lines ... the most heroic struggle could do nothing in the face of such vast inequality of arms."[47] Markham added that although the king's misdeeds had been numerous and his cruelties horrible, he had finally died as a hero.[48]
On the orders of General Napier, Magdala was burnt to the ground, its native and foreign guns destroyed and the accumulated treasures in the fortress looted.[49] The British troops then departed, and Markham was back in England in July 1868. For his services to this campaign Markham was appointedCompanion of the Order of the Bath in 1871.[5][50]
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Markham had, through his various activities, come to know many influential people, and during the early 1870s used these connections to make the case for a Royal Naval Arctic expedition. Prime ministerBenjamin Disraeli consented, in the "spirit of maritime enterprise that has ever distinguished the English people".[51] When the expedition was ready to sail, Markham was invited to accompany it as far as Greenland, onHMS Alert, one of the expedition's three ships. Markham accepted, and left with the convoy on 29 March 1875. He was gone for three months, remaining withAlert as far asDisko Island in Baffin Bay.
He wrote of this journey: "I never had a happier cruise ... a nobler set of fellows never sailed together."[52] He returned to England on the support vesselHMS Valorous,[53] although the homeward voyage was delayed afterValorous struck a reef and required substantial repairs.[54] Markham's extended absence from his India Office duties, together with his increasing involvement in a range of other interests, caused his superiors to request his resignation. Markham retired from his post in 1877, his 22 years of service entitling him to a pension.[5]
Meanwhile, the main expedition, under the command of CaptainGeorge Nares, had proceeded north with the two shipsHMS Discovery andHMS Alert. On 1 September 1875, they reached 82° 24', the highest northern latitude reached by any ship up to that date.[55] In the following spring a sledging party led by Markham's cousin, CommanderAlbert Hastings Markham, achieved a recordFarthest North at 83° 20'.[56]
In November 1854, Markham had been elected a Fellow of theRoyal Geographical Society. The Society soon became the centre of his geographical interests, and in 1863 he was appointed its honorary secretary, a position he was to hold for 25 years.[5]
In addition to his work in promoting the Nares Arctic expedition, Markham followed the work of other Arctic explorers, organising a reception in 1880, for the Swedish explorerAdolf Erik Nordenskiöld after the latter's successful navigation of theNorth-East Passage, and monitoring the progress of the American expeditions ofAdolphus Greely andGeorge W. DeLong. Release from the India Office provided Markham with more time for travel. He made regular trips to Europe, and in 1885, went to America, where he met with PresidentGrover Cleveland in theWhite House. Throughout his secretaryship Markham was a prolific writer of travel books and biographies, and of many papers presented to the RGS and elsewhere.
He was the author of theEncyclopædia Britannica (ninth edition) article entitled "Progress of Geographical Discovery". He also wrote popular histories. Within the RGS Markham was responsible for the revision of the Society's standardHints to Travellers, and for relaunching the journalProceedings of the Royal Geographical Society in a much livelier format.[57] Markham conducted theGeographical Magazine from 1872 to 1878, when it became merged in theProceedings of the Royal Geographical Society.[1]
In parallel with his RGS duties Markham served as secretary of theHakluyt Society until 1886, subsequently becoming that society's president. As part of his work for this body, Markham was responsible for many translations from Spanish into English of rare accounts of travel, in particular those relating to Peru. In time scholars would express doubts about the quality of some of these translations, finding them prepared in haste and lacking in rigour.[5] Nevertheless, this work ran to 22 volumes in the society's publications. In 1873, Markham had been elected aFellow of the Royal Society,[5] and in subsequent years received several overseas honours, including the PortugueseOrder of Christ and theOrder of the Rose of Brazil. He briefly considered, but did not pursue, the idea of a parliamentary career.[58]
Markham maintained his interest in the navy, particularly in the training of its officers. He often visited the merchant officer training vessels,HMS Conway andHMSWorcester, and became a member of the latter's governing body. In early 1887 he accepted an invitation from his cousin Albert Markham, who now commanded the Royal Navy's training squadron, to join the squadron at its station in the West Indies. Markham spent three months aboard the flagshipHMS Active, during which, on 1 March 1887, he had his first encounter withRobert Falcon Scott, who was serving as a midshipman aboard HMSRover. Scott was victorious in a race betweencutters, an event that was noted and remembered by Markham.[59]
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In May 1888, Markham resigned from his position as RGS Secretary, finding himself at odds with the Society's new policies which appeared to favour education over exploration.[60] On his retirement he was awarded the Society'sFounder's Medal for what were described at the presentation ceremony as his "incomparable services to the Society".[61]
The next few years were filled with travel and writing. There were further cruises with the training squadron, and extended visits to theBaltic and the Mediterranean. In 1893, during the course of one of these journeys, Markham was electedin absentia president of the society. This unexpected elevation was the result of a dispute within the Society over the question of women members, about which Markham had kept silent. When in July 1893, the issue was put to a special general meeting, the proposal to admit women was narrowly defeated despite an overwhelming postal ballot in favour. In these circumstances the Society's President, SirM. E. Grant Duff, resigned his office. The 22 existing women members were allowed to remain, but no more were admitted until January 1913 when the RGS changed its policy.[62]
Although Markham was not the first choice as a replacement for Grant Duff—other notable figures were approached—he had kept out of the women members controversy and was broadly acceptable to the membership.[63] Shortly after his accession to the presidency, in recognition of his services to geography Markham was promotedKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath, and became Sir Clements Markham.[5]
In a letter written many years later, Markham said that on the assumption of the presidency he had felt the need, after the dispute over women, to "restore the Society's good name" by the adoption of some great enterprise. He chose Antarctic exploration as the basis for this mission;[64] there had been no significant Antarctic exploration by any country since SirJames Clark Ross's expedition fifty years previously.[65] A new impetus was provided through a lecture given to the RGS in 1893, by the oceanographerJohn Murray, calling for "an expedition to resolve the outstanding questions still posed in the south."[66] In response to Murray the RGS and theRoyal Society formed a joint committee, to campaign for a British Antarctic expedition.[67]
Murray's call for the resumption of Antarctic exploration was taken up again two years later, when the RGS acted as host to the sixth International Geographical Congress in August 1895. This Congress passed a unanimous resolution:
[That] the exploration of the Antarctic Regions is the greatest piece of geographical exploration still to be undertaken. That, in view of the additions to knowledge in almost every branch of science which would result from such a scientific exploration, the Congress recommends that the scientific societies throughout the world should urge, in whatever way seems to them most effective, that this work should be undertaken before the close of the century.[67]
The joint committee organising the British response to this resolution contained a difference of view. Murray and the Royal Society argued for a largely civilian expedition, directed and staffed by scientists, while Markham and most of the RGS contingent saw a National Antarctic Expedition as a means of reviving naval glories, and wanted the expedition organised accordingly.[66] Markham's tenacity finally won the day when in 1900 he secured the appointment of his protégé Robert Falcon Scott, by then a torpedo lieutenant onHMS Majestic, as the expedition's overall commander. In doing so he thwarted an attempt to place the leadership in the hands of ProfessorJohn Walter Gregory of theBritish Museum.[68][69]
In the view of Markham's critics, this represented the subordination of scientific work to naval adventure,[69] although the "Instructions to the Commander", drawn up by Markham, give equal priorities to geographical and scientific work.[70] The "science versus adventure" arguments were renewed when, after the return of the expedition, there was criticism over the accuracy and professionalism of some of its scientific results.[71]
Markham faced further problems in securing funding for the expedition. In 1898, after three years' effort, only a fraction of what was required had been promised. Meanwhile, the Anglo-Norwegian explorerCarsten Borchgrevink had obtained a sum of £40,000 (over £3 million in 2008)[26] from publisherGeorge Newnes, to finance a private Antarctic venture.[67] Markham was furious, believing that funds were being diverted from his own project, and denounced Borchgrevink as "evasive, a liar and a fraud".[72]
He was equally hostile toWilliam Speirs Bruce, the Scottish explorer who had written to Markham asking to join the National Antarctic Expedition. On receiving no confirmation of an appointment, Bruce obtained finance from the ScottishCoats baronets family and organised his ownScottish National Antarctic Expedition. Markham accused Bruce of "mischievous rivalry", and of attempting to "cripple the National Expedition ... in order to get up a scheme for yourself".[73] The Scottish expedition duly sailed, but Markham remained unforgiving towards it, and used his influence to ensure that its participants received no Polar Medals on their return.[74]
A substantial private donation and a government grant finally allowed the National Antarctic Expedition to proceed. A new ship, theDiscovery, was built, and a mainly naval crew of officers and crewmen appointed, along with a scientific staff which was later described as "underpowered".[75]Discovery sailed on 5 August 1901, after an inspection by KingEdward VII, at which Markham was present to introduce Scott and the officers. The ship was gone for just over three years during which time, from a base in theRoss Sea area, significant explorations of this sector of Antarctica were carried out, along with an extensive scientific programme. Although it was reported by theTimes as "one of the most successful [expeditions] that ever ventured into the Polar regions, north or south,"[76] it was largely ignored by the government of the day.[77] Markham was criticised in official quarters for privately sanctioning a second season in the Antarctic, contrary to the original plan, and then being unable to raise funds for the expedition's relief in 1904. The cost for this had to be borne onHis Majesty's Treasury.[78]
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A few months after theDiscovery's return, Markham announced his retirement from the RGS presidency. He was 75 years old; according to his biographer he felt that his active geographical life was now over. His 12 years in the presidency was the longest period on record. He remained a member of the RGS Council, a vice-president,[79] and he kept an active interest in Antarctic exploration, particularly in the two British expeditions which set out in the five years following his retirement. These were led respectively byErnest Shackleton and Scott.[80][81]
Markham had agreed to Shackleton's appointment as third officer on theDiscovery following a recommendation from the expedition's principal private donor.[82] He had given sympathy and support after Shackleton's early return from the expedition on grounds of ill health, and had backed the latter's unsuccessful application for a Royal Navy commission.[83] Later, after Shackleton had confided his intention to lead an expedition of his own, Markham supplied a generous testimonial, describing Shackleton as "well-fitted to have charge of men in an enterprise involving hardship and peril", and "admirably fitted for the leader[ship] of a Polar Expedition."[84]
He expressed strong support for Shackleton's 1907–1909Nimrod expedition: "... not only my most cordial wishes for your success will accompany you, but also a well-founded hope."[80] When news of the expedition's achievement of a newFarthest South latitude of 88°23' reached him, Markham publicly signified his intention to propose Shackleton for the RGS Patron's Medal.[80]
However, Markham had second thoughts, and was soon writing to the current RGS president,Leonard Darwin, to express disbelief about Shackleton's claimed latitudes, repeating these doubts to Scott.[80] Historians have surmised that Scott was Markham's protégé, and that the old man resented polar glory going to someone else.[85] Whatever his reason, Markham adopted a bitterness towards Shackleton which he retained for the rest of his life. He is said to have crossed out all favourable references to Shackleton in his own notes on theDiscovery expedition,[86] and to have virtually ignored Shackleton's achievements in a 1912 address to the British Association. He was equally dismissive in his history of Antarctic exploration,The Lands of Silence, published posthumously in 1921.[87]
By contrast, Markham remained on close personal terms with Scott and was godfather to the explorer's son, born 14 September 1909 and namedPeter Markham Scott in the old man's honour.[88] In his tribute to Scott in the preface toScott's Last Expedition (1913), Markham describes Scott as "among the most remarkable men of our time", and talks of the "beauty" of his character. As Scott lay dying "there was no thought for himself, only the earnest thought to give comfort and consolation to others."[89] In one of the last letters written from his final camp, days from death, Scott wrote: "Tell Sir Clements I thought much of him, and never regretted his putting me in command of the 'Discovery'."[90]
After his retirement from the RGS presidency, Markham led an active life as a writer and traveller. He wrote biographies of the English kingsEdward IV andRichard III, and of his old naval friend Admiral SirLeopold McClintock; he also kept up his editing and translating work.[5][91] He continued to produce papers for the RGS, and remained president of theHakluyt Society until 1910.[5] Markham continued to travel extensively in Europe, and in 1906 cruised with the Mediterranean squadron, where Scott was acting as flag captain to Rear AdmiralGeorge Egerton. When, in 1909, Scott announced his plans for a new Antarctic venture, theTerra Nova expedition, Markham assisted with fundraising and served on the expedition's organising committee, arranging the deal which brought in Lieutenant "Teddy" Evans as second-in-command, in return for the abandonment of Evans's own expedition plans.[92]
Markham was awarded honorary degrees from theUniversity of Cambridge andUniversity of Leeds. In conferring this latter degree, theChancellor referred to Markham as "a veteran in the service of mankind", and recalled that he had been "for sixty years the inspiration of English geographical science."[93] However, Markham did not altogether avoid controversy. In 1912, whenRoald Amundsen, conqueror of the South Pole, was invited by RGS president Leonard Darwin to dine with the Society, Markham resigned his council seat in protest.[94]
The news of the death of Scott and his returning polar party reached Markham in February 1913, while he was staying inEstoril.[95] He returned to England, and assisted with the preparation of Scott's journals for publication.[96] Scott's death was a heavy blow, but Markham continued to lead a busy life of writing and travelling. In 1915, he was present at the service in St Peter's Church,Binton, nearStratford-upon-Avon, where a window was dedicated to Scott and his companions; later that year he assisted at the unveiling of the Royal Navy's statue of Scott, in Waterloo Place, London.[95] Markham read his last paper for the RGS on 10 June 1915, its title being "The History of the Gradual Development of the Groundwork of Geographical Science".[95]
On 29 January 1916, while reading in bed by candlelight, Markham set fire to the bedclothes and was overcome by smoke. He died the following day.[5] His last diary entry, a few days earlier, had recorded a visit from Peter Markham Scott.[97]
The family received tributes from KingGeorge V, who acknowledged the debt the country owed to Markham's life work of study and research; from the Royal Geographical Society and the other learned bodies with which Markham had been associated; from the Naval Commander-in-Chief at Devonport; and fromFridtjof Nansen, the Norwegian Arctic explorer. Other messages were received from France, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, the United States, and from Arequipa in Peru.[97]
More critical assessments of Markham's life and work were to follow.Hugh Robert Mill, Shackleton's first biographer and for many years the RGS librarian, referred to the dictatorial manner in which Markham had run the Society.[5] In time, questions would be raised about the accuracy of some of his Hakluyt translations, and about the evidence of haste in the preparation of other publications.[5] On a personal level he had made enemies as well as friends;Frank Debenham, the geologist who served with both Scott and Shackleton, called Markham "a dangerous old man",[98] while William Speirs Bruce wrote of Markham's "malicious opposition to the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition".[99]
Bruce's colleagueRobert Rudmose-Brown went further, calling Markham "that old fool and humbug".[100] These protestations reflected Markham's protective attitude towards Scott; according to Bruce, "Scott was Markham's protégé, and Markham thought it necessary, in order to uphold Scott, that I should be obliterated". He added that "Scott and I were always good friends, in spite of Markham."[99] Markham's writings on naval history have been criticised by modern scholars due to his nationalistic exaggeration of English sailors' achievements in theAge of Discoveries.[101]
It has been suggested that Markham's prejudices about polar travel, particularly his belief in the "nobility" ofmanhauling, had been passed to Scott, to the detriment of all future British expeditions.[102] Mill's measured opinion, that Markham was "an enthusiast rather than a scholar", has been asserted as a fair summary of his strengths and weaknesses, and as the basis for his influence on the discipline of geography in the late-19th and early-20th centuries.[5] He is commemorated byMount Markham,82°51′S161°21′E / 82.850°S 161.350°E /-82.850; 161.350, in the Transantarctic range, discovered and named by Scott on his southern march during theDiscovery expedition in 1902.[103]
TheMarkham River in Papua New Guinea was named after him;[104] Carsten Borchgrevink discovered and named Markham Island in the Ross Sea during his 1900 expedition,[105] a gesture that was not, however, acknowledged by Markham.[106] The name lives on in Lima, Peru, throughMarkham College, a private co-educational school.[107]Minna Bluff, a promontory extending into theRoss Ice Shelf, was named by Scott for Lady Markham.[108] The plant genusMarkhamia was named after Markham by the German botanistBerthold Carl Seemann in 1863.[109]
Markham's estate was valued forprobate purposes at £7,740 (2008 equivalent £376,000).[5][26] He was survived by his wife Minna, to whom Albert Hastings Markham's 1917 biography of Sir Clements is dedicated. Markham's only child, May, avoided public life and devoted herself to church work in theEast End of London. According to the family's entry inBurke's Landed Gentry she died in 1926.[110][111]
Markham was portrayed by thecharacter actorGeoffrey Chater in the BBC TV miniseriesShackleton in 1983,[112] and byAlexander Knox in the Central Television serialThe Last Place on Earth in 1985.[113]
Markham was a prolific writer and diarist; his first published work, an account of his voyage with HMSAssistance in search of Franklin, had appeared in 1853. After his retirement from the India office in 1877, writing became his chief source of income. In addition to papers and reports for the Royal Geographical Society and other learned bodies, Markham wrote histories, biographies and travel accounts, many as full-length books. He also translated many works from Spanish to English, and compiled a grammar and dictionary for the Quichua language of Peru.[114]
His books include the following:[114]
The conquest of New Granada (1912, reprint 1971)
He was the son of William Markham, of Becca Hall, Aberford, and the grandson of Dr. William Markham, who was Archbishop of York from 1777 to 1807.
It may be mentioned that Dr. Markham, the late Archbishop, was private tutor to both King George IV. and King William IV. ; hence the interest taken by His Majesty in the grandson of his old tutor, to whom he invariably showed great friendship.
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