Cambridge Library Collection - Polar Exploration
2 total works
Sir Clements R. Markham (1830-1916) had succumbed to smoke after accidentally igniting his bedclothes while reading by candlelight; the task of completing this history therefore fell to his friend and fellow geographer F. H. H. Guillemard (1852-1933), who published it in 1921. In the course of his long career, Markham had sailed to the Arctic in search of Sir John Franklin, jeopardised his job in the India Office by joining the British attempt to reach the North Pole in 1875-6, and served as president of the Royal Geographical Society, sending Robert Falcon Scott on his first expedition to Antarctica. His extensive knowledge of the prominent polar explorers and expeditions of his day lends this publication an especial interest and authority. Enhanced by a number of maps and illustrations, the book also considers certain scientific and economic developments, notably the growth of the whaling industry.
Clement Robert Markham (1830-1916) was a geographer who took part in one of the many Arctic expeditions launched to search for missing explorer John Franklin (1786-1847). This account, published in 1853, was written in response to criticism of the expedition. They had found some evidence of Franklin's route - he had set off in May 1845 to find the North-West Passage - but returned to Britain without any of the survivors. Markham gives a brief history of Arctic exploration, but the majority of the book recounts the expedition's efforts to find Franklin. The crew endured a harsh winter and sailed in iceberg-laden waters along the coast of Greenland, looking for clues of Franklin's whereabouts. They also spent some time exploring the Parry Islands (the present-day Queen Elizabeth Islands). Markham's account of the rescue mission provides insight into the little-known and often dangerous world of Arctic explorers.