Albert Hastings Markham
Sir Albert Hastings Markham | |
|---|---|
 Markham in 19th century | |
| Birth name | Albert Hastings Markham |
| Born | 11 November 1841 Bagnères-de-Bigorre,France |
| Died | 28 October 1918 (aged 76) London,England |
| Allegiance |  Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1856–1906 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Unit | |
| Commands |
|
| Battles/wars | Nukapu Expedition |
| Awards | ADC KCB (1903)[1] |
| Relations | Father:Captain John Markham Mother:Marianne Markham (née Wood)[1] Wife:Theodora Markham (née Gervers) Cousin:Sir Clements Robert Markham KCB FRS |
| Other work | Arctic Exploration Council of theRoyal Geographical Society Author |
AdmiralSir Albert Hastings MarkhamKCB(11 November 1841 – 28 October 1918) was a Britishexplorer,author, and officer in theRoyal Navy.In 1903 he was invested as a Knight Commander of theOrder of the Bath.He is also remembered for designing theflagofNew Zealand.[2]
Family and background
[edit]Albert Markham was the fifth son of Captain John Markham, who had retired from the navy because of ill health with the rank of lieutenant. John Markham's grandfather,William Markham,had beenArchbishop of York.He was a cousin and close friend of SirClements Markham.[3][2]
Albert was born inBagnères-de-Bigorrein the Hautes-Pyrénées department ofFrance,where the family lived before moving to a farm onGuernsey.At age thirteen, Albert was sent to London to live with his aunt, the wife of his uncleDavid Markham(Canon of Windsorfrom 1827 to 1853), at 4Onslow Square.Neighbours included the explorer Vice-AdmiralRobert FitzRoyand novelistWilliam Thackeray.
He was educated at home and atEastman's Royal Naval Academy.[4]Markham's father was short of money for his education and had for some time tried to find a naval officer willing to sponsor Albert for admission to the navy. He only succeeded in doing so after Albert had passed the normal entry age of fourteen, but by good luck the admiralty at that time had decided to experiment with accepting older cadets. His aunt's sonClements Markham,who was eleven years older than Albert, had also joined the navy before leaving to become a geographer and explorer. He became a lifelong friend to his cousin Albert and exerted a considerable influence on his career.[5]
When away from Clements and his wife Minna, whom for much of his life he regarded as his only family, Albert was often moody, irritable and defensive. He had a strong sense of duty as a naval officer, which compelled him to serve with a strict adherence to rules and established practices, and strong religious convictions. He did not smoke, allowing that a gentleman might have an occasional cigar, but believing that cigarettes were for effeminate weaklings and that a black pipe ruined mind and body. He did not drink and disapproved of those who did. He found it difficult to socialise with other officers. He disliked the peacetime navy, with its endless social engagements, partying and ritual displays.[6]
Markham's family emigrated to the United States and John Markham bought a farm atLa Crossein Wisconsin. Albert visited them twice and was unimpressed. He found the trains slow, the hotels disreputable, and travelling companions murderous. He was, however, impressed by the wild grandeur and wildlife of theMississippi Valleyand was invited to hunt with General Mackenzie in Indian territory. Throughout his life he enjoyed hunting all manner of beasts. The only killing at which he showed disgust was the drawn-out deaths of whales, which he saw on Arctic voyages.[7]
He married Theodora Gervers in 1894, with whom he had one daughter.
Naval career
[edit]
Markham had no great conviction for a naval career, but accepted the constraints it placed upon him in return for the opportunities it presented to further his other interests. He followed the advice he had been given to join and stick with the navy, although he suffered from seasickness and disliked the customary cruelty of service punishments. However, his austere upbringing had better suited him to the rigours of navy life than had his cousin's.[8]
Markham joined theRoyal Navyin 1856 at the age of 15 and spent the first eight years of his career on theChina Station,travelling out in HMSCamillaand later serving onHMSNiger,HMSRetribution,Imperieuse,HMSCoromandeland HMSCentaur.[9]
His brother John was also in Hong Kong, where he was suffering food poisoning from arsenic added to flour by local Chinese. Chinese pirates were the chief preoccupation of the navy as they would regularly make raids on the harbour. On one occasion aged fifteen Markham led a party of six boys and two marines against a pirate junk. The pirates abandoned ship and those captured were taken ashore and eventually beheaded. On another occasion he commanded alorchaarmed with a 12-pounder howitzer against a pirate ship holding two British captives. After a three-hour fight he boarded the ship with five men while heavily outnumbered and took eleven prisoners. The British prisoners were found to have been crucified, so the pirates were executed. He became acquainted with a British Consulate official who encouraged an interest in ornithology and shooting snipe.[10]
In 1862, Markham received a promotion to lieutenant. In 1864, he returned to Britain where he took naval exams and stayed with Clements and his wife Minna, at what was to be his only permanent home in England for 30 years. In November he was appointed to the last three-decker constructed for the Royal Navy,HMSVictoria,in theMediterranean.Life sailing in the Levant was considerably less dangerous, and normally only required the arrival of a British ship to settle a dispute. There was plenty of time for leave and Markham visited Turkey, Egypt, the Holy Land, Greece and the Aegean islands. Appointment to the fleet patrolling the eastern end of the Mediterranean was considered by many as less desirable than the western patrol which visited France and Italy, but the historical sites in the east suited Markham's interests. He kept a journal describing the places he visited, as he did throughout his life. One of his greatest delights was to meet Minna and Clements ashore and to accompany them on archaeological expedition in the region.[11]
In 1868, Markham was appointed first lieutenant ofHMSBlancheon theAustralia Stationwhere he helped suppress "blackbirding",the illegal trading of slaves between Queensland and the South Sea Islands. This included time spent as an acting commander onHMSRosario.[12]The issue was not straightforward, because the Queensland government was ambivalent towards the trade, which provided workers for its plantations. Some of the native workers were pleased to be travelling to Queensland, while others hated all white men. A bishop and three others were murdered in one incident, and Markham led a party toNukapu to exact revenge,destroying a local village. Although Markham's actions were supposedly fuelled by his righteous indignation at an attack upon churchmen, he was criticised in parliament and the press for overreacting.[13]The admiralty, however, approved of his actions. Markham himself found the work more worthwhile than the Mediterranean posting, although it meant he no longer saw Clements and Minna.[14]
In 1869 he submitted a design toGeorge Bowen,theGovernor of New Zealand,for anational ensign for New Zealand.His proposal, incorporating theSouthern Cross,was approved and remains in use to this day.[15]
On 29 November 1872[16]he was promoted tocommanderand spent the next six years engaged in Arctic Exploration. As a reward for his efforts in theBritish Arctic Expeditionof 1876, he was promoted tocaptain.[17]From 1879 to 1882 he was the captain ofTriumph,[9]the flagship of thePacific Station.In 1883 he was appointed as captain ofHMSVernon,a naval torpedo school inPortsmouth.From 1886 to 1889 he acted as commodore of thetraining squadron,and on 14 May 1888 he was appointed naval aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria.[18]On 1 August 1891, he was promoted to the rank ofrear-admiral.[19] [20]
Sinking of HMSVictoria
[edit]Markham was appointed second in command of the Mediterranean fleet on 20 March 1892, commanding the second division. For part of the year the fleet would operate combined, and for part the first division underVice-AdmiralSir George Tryonvisited the eastern Mediterranean, while the second patrolled the west.
On 22 June 1893, the whole fleet was operating together for the annual exercises off the Syrian coast. The two divisions were proceeding in parallel columns headed towards the shore, which meant that shortly they must turn. Tryon issued orders for a turn through 180 degrees, which was to be done by the two columns turning towards each other. The two columns were only three cables apart, but the minimum safe spacing for such a turn was generally considered to be four cables. Markham was faced with a dilemma, what to do when given an order which appeared impossible to carry out safely. He hesitated acknowledging the order (sent by flag signals), but eventually acknowledged it when Tryon queried his delay. Tryon's flagshipHMSVictoriaexecuted an extreme tight turn, while Markham executed a slower standard turn. The effect was thatVictoriaturned slightly faster, and Markham's ship,HMSCamperdown,rammed her towards the bow.Victoriasank within 15 minutes, taking with her 358 men including Tryon.
The surviving crew ofVictoriawere court-martialled for the loss of their ship and were exonerated. Markham was not tried so no verdict was passed upon his actions. TheVictoriaverdict noted that it was difficult to condemn an officer for obeying an explicit command, but regrettable that Markham had accepted the order without query. Markham attempted to obtain his own court martial to clear his name, but was persuaded by the new commander of the Mediterranean fleet and chairman ofVictoria's court martial, AdmiralMichael Culme-Seymour,that it was not in his best interest to persist in this attempt.[9][21]
Markham completed his tour of the Mediterranean before a period on half pay without a command. He was promoted to Vice-Admiral on 23 August 1897.[22]
On 1 November 1901, he was madeCommander-in-Chief, The Nore,making him responsible for the defence of the port ofLondonand of merchant ships along the East coast of Britain. He hoisted his flag on board thebattleshipHMSEdinburghon the same day.[23]He was promoted to the full rank ofadmiralon 21 January 1903.[24]Stepping down from his command after two years in November 1903, he was made a Knight Commander of theOrder of the Bathin the1903 Birthday Honourson 9 November 1903.[25]He retired from the navy upon reaching the age limit on 11 November 1906.[26]At the outbreak of theFirst World Warhe offered his services to the Admiralty, but his services were declined. Instead, he worked for the next four years as treasurer for the Mine Sweepers' Fund. He had just finished some fund work on 23 October 1918 when he fell ill, and died at age 76.[27]
Exploration
[edit]In 1873, Markham shipped as thesecond mate[1]in the whalerArcticthroughDavis Straitsand Baffin Bay. While performing his share of whaling duties, which he would later write about, he also kept detailed notes on the ice conditions and wrote a report suggesting the route for use with steam vessels.
For theBritish Arctic Expeditionof 1875–76 he was appointed second-in-command ofHMSAlertunder CaptainNares.Despite suffering fromscurvyand being poorly clothed, he led a sledge-party to reach the highest latitude ever attained at the time (83°20′26″ N), a record that stood for 20 years.[9]They did, however, fail to realize their ultimate goal of reaching theNorth Pole.
In 1879, he accompaniedSir Henry Gore Boothaboard theIsbjörntoNovaya Zemlya,a remote island in northern Russia. In 1886, he went alone to report on the ice conditions ofHudson StraitandHudson Bay,a report which garnered thanks from both Houses of theCanadian Parliament.The ship which took him to Hudson Bay was his old shipAlertfrom the British Arctic Expedition of 1875–76, by then on loan to the Canadian Marine Service of the Department of Marine and Fisheries.
He served for many years on the Council of theRoyal Geographical Societyalong with his cousinSir Clements Markham,whose biography he would later write. He remained an avid supporter of bothArcticandAntarcticexploration and delighted in the successes of young explorers.
Writings
[edit]Markham wrote numerous books and articles about his exploration as well as twobiographies.While stationed in thePacificfrom 1879 to 1882 he compiled a list ofPacific gullswhich was published in 1882 by theornithologistHoward Saundersand republished in 1883 byOsbert Salvin.Salvin named a bird,Markham's storm petrel,after him in honor of his contributions to science.
- The New Hebrides and Santa Cruz Groups, South-West Pacific(1871)
Sir Albert Markham and Lady Dora Markham - The New Hebrides and Santa Cruz Groups(1872)
- The Cruise of the 'Rosario' Amongst the New Hebrides and Santa Cruz Islands(1873)
- A Whaling Cruise to Baffin's Bay and the Gulf of Boothia(1874)
- On Sledge Travelling(1876)
- Our Life in the Arctic Regions(1877)
- Northward Ho!(1879)
- The Arctic Campaign of 1879 in the Barents Sea(1880)
- A Visit to the Galapagos Islands in 1880(1880)
- The Great Frozen Sea(1880)
- A Polar Reconnaissance: Being the Voyage of the 'Isbjörn' to Novaya Zemlya in 1879(1881)
- Hudson's Bay and Hudson's Strait as a Navigable Channel(1888)
- Life of Sir John Franklin and the North-west Passage(1891)
- The Life of Sir Clements R. Markham, K.C.B., F.R.S(1917)
Birds discovered by Markham
[edit]Posthumous homage
[edit]
Location of geographical features named after Sir Albert Hastings Markham:
- Markgama Island(‹See Tfd›Russian:Остров Маркгама)
- Cape Alberta Markgama (‹See Tfd›Russian:Мыс Маркгама), the Northwestern cape ofHooker Island
- Markham Channel(‹See Tfd›Russian:Земля Зичи)
- Markham Ice Shelfformer ice shelf on the Canadian Arctic islandEllesmere Island
- Mount Albert Markhamin Antarctica
See also
[edit]- Arctic exploration
- History of Antarctica
- List of polar explorers
- List of explorers
- "Archival material relating to Albert Hastings Markham".UK National Archives.
Notes
[edit]- ^abcOxford Dictionary of National Biography(Markham, Sir Albert Hastings (1841–1918), naval officer and Arctic explorer), by R N Rudmose Brown, revised by Roger T Stearn
- ^ab"Death of Sir A. H. Markham. An Arctic Explorer. Career in the Navy".The Times.29 October 1918. p. 8.
- ^Burke, Bernard (1879).A genealogical and heraldic history of the landed gentry of Great Britain & Ireland.London, Harrison. p.1060.Retrieved19 May2019.
- ^"Markham, Sir Albert Hastings".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/34879.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^Hough p.23–24
- ^Hough p.27–28
- ^Hough p. 29-30
- ^Hough p. 25
- ^abcd"Biography of Albert Markham at the National Maritime Museum".Archived fromthe originalon 9 June 2011.Retrieved19 November2008.
- ^Hough p.25–26
- ^Hough p.26–27
- ^"Biography of Albert Hastings Markham at the National Maritime Museum".Archived fromthe originalon 9 June 2011.Retrieved18 November2009.
- ^Lawrence, David Russell (October 2014)."Chapter 5 Liberalism, Imperialism and colonial expansion"(PDF).The Naturalist and his "Beautiful Islands": Charles Morris Woodford in the Western Pacific.ANU Press. pp. 147–148, 152–158.ISBN9781925022032.
- ^Hough p.28–29
- ^"Rear-Admiral Sir Albert Hastings Markham,Norfolk Museums and Archeology Service ".Archived fromthe originalon 2 June 2008.Retrieved18 November2008.
- ^"No. 23924".The London Gazette.29 November 1872. p. 36.
- ^"No. 24379".The London Gazette.7 November 1876. p. 1.
- ^"No. 25820".The London Gazette.25 May 1888. p. 8.
- ^"No. 26190".The London Gazette.7 August 1891. p. 14.
- ^Catalogue details for ADM 196/37,The National Archives,these records includeMarkham's service record(fee required to view pdf of original record). Retrieved 2008-12-22.
- ^Hough
- ^"No. 26885".The London Gazette.24 August 1897. p. 2.
- ^"Naval & Military intelligence".The Times.No. 36602. London. 2 November 1901. p. 13.
- ^"No. 27518".The London Gazette.23 January 1903. p. 466.
- ^"No. 27613".The London Gazette.6 November 1903. p. 1.
- ^"No. 27967".The London Gazette.13 November 1906. p. 1.
- ^Markham.Life of Sir Albert Hastings Markham.p. 252.
- ^abMarkham.Life of Sir Albert Hastings Markham.p. 254.
References
[edit]
- The Geographical Journal, Vol. 52, No. 6. (December, 1918).Royal Geographical Society. 1918.
- L. B. (1919).The Geographical Journal, Vol. 53, No. 1. (January, 1919).Royal Geographical Society.
- Markham, F. E.; Markham, M. A. (1927).The Life of Sir Albert Hastings Markham.Cambridge University Press.
- Richard Hough (1959).Admirals in Collision.London: Hamish Hamilton.
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1922)..Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 31 (12th ed.). London & New York: The Encyclopædia Britannica Company. p. 850.
External links
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