Albert Hastings Markham Admiral Sir Albert Hastings Markham , KCB ( 11 November 1841 – 28 October 1918 ) was a British explorer , author , and officer in the Royal Navy . In 1903 he was made Knight Commander in the Order of the Bath . He died in London , England at the age of 76 . Family and background . 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 . His grandfather , William Markham had been Archbishop of York . Albert was born in Bagnères - de - Bigorre , France , where the family lived before moving to a farm on Guernsey . At age thirteen he was sent to London to live with his aunt , widow of his uncle David Markham who had been Canon of Windsor , at 4 Onslow Square . Neighbours included the explorer Vice - Admiral Robert FitzRoy and novelist William Thackeray . He was educated at home and at Eastman ' s Royal Naval Academy . Markham ' s father was short of money for his education and had for some time been trying to find a naval officer willing to sponsor Albert for admission to the navy . He only did 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 son Clements 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 . When away from Clements and his wife Ninna , who 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 cigarettes were for effeminate weaklings and 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 . Markham ' s family emigrated to the United States and John Markham bought a farm at La Crosse in Wisconsin . Albert visited them twice and he was unimpressed . The trains were slow , the hotels disreputable , and travelling companions murderous . He was impressed by the wild grandeur and wildlife of the Mississippi valley and 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 . He married Theodora Grevers in 1894 , with whom he had one daughter . Naval career . 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 . Markham joined the Royal Navy in 1856 at the age of 15 and spent the first eight years of his career on the China Station , travelling out in " Camilla " and later serving on " Niger " , " Retribution " , , and . 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 a lorcha armed 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 . 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 , " Victoria " , in the Mediterranean . 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 . In 1868 , Markham was appointed first lieutenant of " Blanche " on the Australia Station where he helped suppress " blackbirding " , the illegal trading of slaves between Queensland and the South Sea Islands . This included time spent as an acting commander in " Rosario " . 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 to Nukapu to exact revenge , destroying a local village . Markham ' s actions were fuelled by his righteous indignation at an attack upon churchmen and he was criticised in parliament and the press for overreacting . The admiralty , however , approved of his decisive actions . Markham himself found the work more worthwhile than the Mediterranean posting , although it meant he no longer saw Clements and Minna . In 1869 he submitted a design to George Bowen , the Governor of New Zealand for a national ensign for the fledgeling nation . His proposal , incorporating the Southern Cross , was approved and remains in use to this day . On 29 November 1872 he was promoted to commander and spent the next six years engaged in Arctic Exploration . As a reward for his efforts in the British Arctic Expedition of 1876 , he was promoted to captain . From 1879 to 1882 he was the captain of , the flagship of the Pacific Station . In 1883 he was appointed as captain of HMS " Vernon " , a naval torpedo school in Portsmouth . From 1886 to 1889 he acted as commodore of the training squadron , and on 14 May 1888 he was appointed naval aide - de - camp to Queen Victoria . On 1 August 1891 , he was promoted to the rank of rear - admiral . Sinking of HMS Victoria . 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 under Vice - Admiral Sir George Tryon visited 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 flagship " Victoria " executed an extreme tight turn , while Markham executed a slower standard turn . The effect was that " Victoria " turned slightly faster , and Markham ' s ship , " Camperdown " , rammed her towards the bow . " Victoria " sank within 15 minutes , taking with her 358 men including Tryon . The surviving crew of " Victoria " were court - martialled for the loss of their ship and were exonerated . Markham was not tried so no verdict was passed upon his actions . The " Victoria " verdict 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 of " Victoria " s court martial , Admiral Michael Culme - Seymour , that it was not in his best interest to persist in this attempt . 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 . On 1 November 1901 , he was made Commander - in - Chief , The Nore , making him responsible for the defense of the port of London and of merchant ships along the East coast of Britain . He hoisted his flag on board the battleship " HMS Edinburgh " on the same day . He was promoted to the rank of admiral on 21 January 1903 . Having been made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 9 November 1903 , he retired upon reaching the age limit on 11 November 1906 . At the outbreak of the First World War he 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 on 28 October . Exploration . In 1873 , Markham shipped as the second mate in the whaler " Arctic " through Davis Strait s and 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 the British Arctic Expedition of 1875 – 76 he was appointed second - in - command of HMS " Alert " under Captain Nares . Despite suffering from scurvy and 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 . They did , however , fail to realize their ultimate goal of reaching the North Pole . In 1879 , he accompanied Sir H . Gore Booth aboard the " Isbjörn " to Novaya Zemlya , a remote island in northern Russia . In 1886 , he went alone to report on the ice conditions of Hudson Strait and Hudson Bay , a report which garnered thanks from both Houses of the Canadian Parliament . The ship which took him to Hudson Bay was his old ship " Alert " from 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 the Royal Geographical Society along with his cousin Sir Clements Markham , whose biography he would later write . He remained an avid supporter of both Arctic and Antarctic exploration and delighted in the successes of young explorers . Writings . Markham wrote numerous books and articles about his exploration as well as two biographies . While stationed in the Pacific from 1879 to 1882 he compiled a list of Pacific Gull s which was published in 1882 by the ornithologist Howard Saunders and republished in 1883 by Osbert Salvin . Salvin named a bird , Markham ' s Storm - Petrel , after him in honor of his contributions to science . Posthumous homage . Location of geographical features named after Sir Albert Hastings Markham :