The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
Markham, Edwin
1852–1940, American poet, b. Oregon City, Oreg. He grew up in California and later taught school there. In 1899 he achieved widespread popularity for the poem “The Man with the Hoe.” Inspired by Millet’s famous painting, the poem was a protest against the degradation and exploitation of labor. His other famous poem, “Lincoln, the Man of the People,” appeared in Lincoln and Other Poems (1901).
