Markham, Sir Clements Robert

Markham, Sir Clements Robert (mär`kəm), 1830–1916, English geographer and writer. While in the navy he served on a British expedition (1850–51) to the Arctic to search for the explorer Sir John Franklin. From 1867 to 1877 he supervised the geographical work of the India Office, and he is credited with the introduction of cinchona cultivation into India from Peru. He was president (1893–1905) of the Royal Geographical Society. Secretary (1858–86) and president (1889–1909) of the Hakluyt Society, he edited and translated for it accounts of early travels. His own 50 works include accounts of his many travels and a number of biographies, chiefly of explorers and travelers. He was an authority on Inca civilization and wrote The Incas of Peru (1910) and edited early accounts of the Inca. Markham was an important promoter of antarctic exploration and helped to raise funds for Robert Scott's 1901 expedition.