A database for the entire Markarian catalog is presented that combines extensive new measurements of their optical parameters with a literature and database search. The measurements were made using images extracted from the STScI Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) of F_pg_(red) and J_pg_(blue) band photographic sky survey plates obtained by the Palomar and UK Schmidt telescopes. We provide accurate coordinates, morphological type, spectral and activity classes, red and blue apparent magnitudes, apparent diameters, axial ratios, and position angles, as well as number counts of neighboring objects in a circle of radius 50kpc. Special attention was paid to the individual descriptions of the galaxies in the original Markarian lists, which clarified many cases of misidentifications of the objects, particularly among interacting systems, larger galaxies with knots of star formation, possible stars, and cases of stars projected on galaxies. The total number of individual Markarian objects in the database is now 1544.