The Life of Sir Clements R. Markham, K.C.B., F.R.S. Cambridge Library Collection - Polar Exploration Series

Albert Hastings Markham (1841?1918) was the cousin of the subject of this biography, published in 1917, and greatly admired his older relative, who had acted as his mentor. Clements R. Markham (1830?1916) is remembered as a prolific writer on historical geography, many of whose works are reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection. As a boy, he showed great enthusiasm for both history and exploration, and after a chance encounter with an admiral, joined the navy as a cadet. After eight years, he determined to leave the service and pursue a career as an explorer and writer. His first expedition was to Peru, but his main interest was in the Arctic. As an active member of both the Royal Geographical Society and the Hakluyt Society, he both published accounts of early voyages and urged further exploration in the polar regions, including the 1901?4 Discovery expedition under Robert Scott.

Preface; 1. Childhood and school-days; 2. Joins the navy; 3. The Pacific station; 4. The Sandwich Islands; 5. Cruising in the Pacific; 6. Home-ward bound; 7. In the Mediterranean; 8. The search for Sir John Franklin; 9. Travels in Peru; 10. Cuzco to Lima; 11. The quest for cinchona; 12. Work in India; 13. The Abyssinian war; 14. Geography and Arctic exploration; 15. Arctic interests, the merchant service, and other matters; 16. The US and the West Indies; 17. With the trading squadron; 18. The Royal Geographical Society; 19. The Discovery Antarctic expedition; 20. Later years; 21. Scott's last expedition - the end; Appendices; Index.