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
Minna Chichester
(m. 1857)
Parent
David Frederick Markham
Relatives
Sir Albert Markham (cousin)
Education
Cheam School
Westminster School
Occupation
Explorer, geographer, writer
Awards
Royal Geographical Society's Founder's Medal (1888)
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (1896)
Signature
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 the Royal 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 the British National Antarctic Expedition of 1901–1904, and for launching the polar career of Robert Falcon Scott.
Markham began his career as a Royal Navy cadet and midshipman, during which time he went to the Arctic with HMS Assistance in one of the many searches for Franklin's lost expedition. Later, Markham served as a geographer to the India Office, and was responsible for the collection of cinchona plants from their native Peruvian forests, and their transplantation in India. By this means, the Indian government acquired a home source from which quinine could be extracted. Markham also served as geographer to Sir Robert Napier's Abyssinian expeditionary force, and was present in 1868, at the fall 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 the Hakluyt 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's Mount Markham, named after him by Scott in 1902.
^ abChisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Markham, Sir Clements Robert" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 734–735.
^Addison, Henry Robert; Oakes, Charles Henry; Lawson, William John; Sladen, Douglas Brooke Wheelton (1905). "MARKHAM, Sir Clements Robert". Who's Who. 57: 1073.
Sir Clements Robert Markham KCB FRS FRSGS (20 July 1830 – 30 January 1916) was an English geographer, explorer and writer. He was secretary of the Royal...
but the name Chinchón (pronounced [tʃinˈtʃon] in Spanish) led to ClementsMarkham and others proposing a correction of the spelling to Chinchona, and...
Impressed by Shackleton's keenness, Longstaff recommended him to Sir ClementsMarkham, the expedition's overlord, making it clear that he wanted Shackleton...
a Royal Navy officer. In 1899, he had a chance encounter with Sir ClementsMarkham, the president of the Royal Geographical Society, and learned of a...
was named in 1873 by Captain John Moresby, R.N., in honour of Sir ClementsMarkham, then Secretary of the Royal Geographical Society. A single-lane steel...
tulip tree. Native to Africa, Markhamia was named in the honour of ClementsMarkham (1830-1916), who worked in India. An evergreen small tree that grows...
The Markham Valley is a geographical area in Papua New Guinea. The name "Markham" commemorates Sir ClementsMarkham, Secretary of the British Royal Geographical...
than on the uncertain evidence she has so misleadingly presented." ClementsMarkham suggests the princes may have been alive as late as July 1484, pointing...
Markham's grandfather, William Markham, had been Archbishop of York. He was a cousin and close friend of Sir ClementsMarkham. Albert was born in Bagnères-de-Bigorre...
000 km (620 mi) journey across the inland ice that almost killed them. ClementsMarkham, president of the Royal Geographical Society, called the journey the...
Rory Markham (born March 25, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist and actor who most recently acted alongside Will Smith playing Booker...
Salisbury John Roddam Spencer Stanhope Dudley, 24th Baron de Ros Sir ClementsMarkham John, 9th Duke of Argyll Winifred, Duchess of Portland Simon, 14th...
remarkable cliffs, glaciers, and hills, and giving all their native names. ClementsMarkham, Arctic Geography and Ethnology, 1875 Upon transfer to the Assistance...
expedition. Colbeck originally planned to name the island Markham Island, after Sir ClementsMarkham, but later decided to name it after Scott. Haggits Pillar...
The English translation by ClementsMarkham included illustrations of some of the Indian plants by Cristóvão da Costa. Markham considered da Costa's work...
kilometres (620 mi) journey across the inland ice that almost killed them. ClementsMarkham, president of the Royal Geographical Society, called the journey the...
1903–05, under Jean-Baptiste Charcot, gave the name Ile ClementsMarkham for Sir ClementsMarkham, President of the Royal Geographical Society, 1893–1905...
history if you can; it is better than games." He was named after Sir ClementsMarkham, mentor of Scott's polar expeditions, and a godfather along with J...
Baring Henry Bruce John Campbell Richard Strachey M. E. Grant Duff ClementsMarkham 20th century George Goldie Leonard Darwin George Curzon Douglas Freshfield...
native Arctic-dwelling peoples. The technique's chief advocate was Sir ClementsMarkham, President of the Royal Geographical Society during the latter part...
December 2014. Markham, Sir Clements Robert (1881). The Fifty Years' Work of the Royal Geographical Society. J. Murray. p. 23. Markham, Sir Clements Robert (1881)...
thus legitimising his wife. Amateur historians Bertram Fields and Sir ClementsMarkham have claimed that he may have been involved in the murder of the Princes...
appointment and clashes with Royal Geographical Society (RGS) president Sir ClementsMarkham led him instead to organise his own expedition, and earned him the...
22 May 1905 – 25 May 1908 (1905-05-22 – 1908-05-25) Preceded by Sir ClementsMarkham Succeeded by Leonard Darwin Governor of the Royal Niger Company In...
of Shanghai, China, to begin the tea plantations of Assam. In 1860, ClementsMarkham used Wardian cases to smuggle the cinchona plant out of South America...
Global Information
