Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim (February 5, 1840 – November 24, 1916) was an American-born British inventor most famous for creating the first automatic machine gun, the Maxim gun. He held patents for many mechanical devices, including hair-curling irons, a mousetrap, and steam pumps. Maxim said he invented the lightbulb.

He experimented with powered flight, but his large aircraft designs were not successful. Around 1904, he designed a popular amusement ride called the "Captive Flying Machine" to support his flight research and raise public interest in aviation.

Maxim moved from the United States to the United Kingdom at age 41. He remained an American citizen until becoming a naturalized British citizen in 1899. He was given a knighthood in 1901.

Birth and early life

Maxim was born in Sangerville, Maine, on February 5, 1840, into a family with French Huguenot heritage. At the age of 14, he became an apprentice coachbuilder. Ten years later, he began working at the machine shop of his uncle, Levi Stephens, in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Later, he worked as an instrument maker and as a draftsman. His early experiences in these fields caused him to be often disappointed with workers when he managed his own companies later in life. Hiram called himself a Protestant.

Inventions

Hiram Maxim, who had long suffered from bronchitis, created and produced a small menthol inhaler and a larger "Pipe of Peace," a steam inhaler that used pine vapor. He claimed these devices could help with asthma, tinnitus, hay fever, and catarrh. After being criticized for using his skills in ways some called unscientific, he defended his work by saying, "It will be seen that it is a very creditable thing to invent a killing machine, and nothing less than a disgrace to invent an apparatus to prevent human suffering."

He also invented a curling iron, a device to remove magnetism from watches, magno-electric machines, tools to stop ships from rolling, eyelet and riveting machines, aircraft artillery, an aerial torpedo gun, coffee substitutes, and various oil, steam, and gas engines.

A large furniture factory had burned down multiple times, and Maxim was asked how to stop this from happening again. As a result, he invented the first automatic fire sprinkler system. The sprinklers would spray water on fires and send a signal to the fire station. Although he could not sell the idea elsewhere, it was later used after his patent expired.

Maxim developed and installed the first electric lights in a building in New York City, the Equitable Life Building at 120 Broadway, in the late 1870s. In 1878, he helped start the United States Electric Lighting Company with Edward Weston to share his designs with the public.

However, he had long legal disagreements with Thomas Edison over who deserved credit for the lightbulb. One case involved the incandescent bulb. Maxim claimed Edison was given credit because he understood patent laws better. He also said an employee of his had falsely patented the invention under his own name, and Edison proved this was false. Maxim believed this allowed Edison to make the lightbulb without giving him proper credit.

Maxim was reported to have said: "In 1882 I was in Vienna, where I met an American I had known in the States. He said: 'Hang your chemistry and electricity! If you want to make a pile of money, invent something that will enable these Europeans to cut each others' throats with greater facility.'"

As a child, Maxim was knocked over by a rifle's recoil, which inspired him to use that force to automatically operate a gun. Between 1883 and 1885, he patented gas, recoil, and blowback methods for gun operation. After moving to England, he lived in a large house once owned by Lord Thurlow in West Norwood, where he designed an automatic weapon. The gun used recoil energy to prepare for the next shot. He advertised in local newspapers that he would be testing the gun in his garden and asked neighbors to keep their windows open to avoid broken glass.

Maxim started a weapons company with financial support from Edward Vickers to produce his machine gun in Crayford, Kent. Later, the company merged with Nordenfelt. In 1897, part of the Barrow Shipbuilding Company was bought by Vickers Corporation, forming "Vickers, Son & Maxim." After Maxim left the company in 1911, the improved version of his machine gun, the Vickers machine gun, became the standard British machine gun for many years. Variants of the Maxim gun were used by both sides during World War I, with sales led by Basil Zaharoff.

In his later years, Maxim became deaf due to years of exposure to the loud noise of his guns.

Maxim's father had once imagined a helicopter powered by two rotating rotors but could not build it because of weak engines. Hiram first sketched plans for a helicopter in 1872 but later used wings for his first "flying machine." Before designing, he tested aerofoil sections and propeller designs using a wind tunnel and a whirling arm test rig. In 1889, he began building a 40-foot-long (12 m) craft with a 110-foot (34 m) wingspan, weighing 3.5 tons. It was powered by two lightweight steam engines driving two 17-foot-diameter (5.2 m) pine propellers.

The machine was tested on a 1,800-foot (550 m) rail track laid at his home, Baldwyn's Park Mansion. Initially, heavy wheels were used to prevent takeoff, but after testing, Maxim added four wheeled outriggers to stop the machine from lifting. During trials in 1894, the machine lifted but was held down by the outriggers. The test was stopped before disaster occurred. Maxim later gave up on the project but used his experience to design fairground rides. He noted that a practical flying machine would need stronger engines, like a petrol combustion engine.

To fund his flight research and promote the idea of flight, Maxim built an amusement ride for the Earl's Court exhibition in 1904. The ride was based on a test rig he designed and featured a large spinning frame with cars that swung outward, simulating flight. It was similar to the later Circle Swing ride, popularized by Harry Traver in the U.S.

Maxim originally planned to use wings for rider control but this was banned as unsafe. He then lost interest in the project, calling the ride "Simply a glorified merry-go-round." His company built more rides at The Crystal Palace and seaside resorts like Southport, New Brighton, and Blackpool, all opening in 1904. Originally, he planned to build two rides, but a breakdown on the first forced him to build more to make the project profitable. He had ideas for other versions of the ride but never completed them due to his growing disinterest in the amusement business.

Although he regretted the project, the rides were highly respected in the industry. The Blackpool ride still operates today as part of the Pleasure Beach amusement park. Along with the park's historic river caves, it is the oldest operating ride in Europe. The "Flying Machines" ride has remained nearly unchanged from Maxim's original design. The Blackpool ride is now commonly called "The Flying Machine" or "Flying Machines," though its full name, "Sir Hiram Maxim's Captive Flying Machines," is listed at the entrance.

In 2001, Disney California Adventure Park opened with the Golden Zephyr, a modern version of the Traver-style ride. The ride is smaller than the Blackpool version, with cars swinging at a smaller angle. Engineers from Disney visited the Blackpool ride to study it, as it is the only remaining example of either version.

Grahame-White, Blériot, and Maxim Company

In 1911, Maxim led the newly created Grahame-White, Blériot, and Maxim Company, which was formed with the two aviators and 200,000 pounds of capital. His goal was to build military aircraft that could explore areas or drop a 500-pound (230 kg) bomb. However, his poor health and financial problems from other businesses made it difficult for him to develop this project before his death.

Philosophy

Besides working as an engineer, Maxim, who never believed in God, put together and edited a book called Li Hung Chang's Scrapbook. The book was written for Li Hung Chang (also spelled Li Hongzhang and Li Hung-chang) and tried to explain why many Chinese people were confused about how people who build trains and ships could believe in a religion that includes devils, ghosts, impossible miracles, and other strange ideas taught by missionaries.

Maxim did not respect European missionaries in China, as explained in the scrapbook. He said his goal was to help Li Hung Chang understand that not all Europeans were foolish. The scrapbook had about 400 pages and 42 pictures. It included Maxim's thoughts on the nature of Christianity, Christianity in China, and his opinions on miracles, spirituality, faith, and how the Bible affected the development of Europe and America.

At the end of the scrapbook, Maxim made a plea to the missionaries and shared his views on why his efforts to spread Christianity in China had not been successful.

Honours

Maxim was a Knight of the Legion of Honour; a civil, mechanical, and electrical engineer; member of the London Chamber of Commerce; fellow of the Royal Institution; member of the British Association for the Advancement of Science; member of the British Empire League; and fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Emigration and knighthood

In 1881, Maxim went to Britain to organize the London offices of the United States Electric Lighting Company. His trips back to the United States happened less often over time. On September 16, 1899, Maxim officially became a British citizen. The next year, Queen Victoria gave him a knighthood. However, Queen Victoria passed away on January 22, 1901, just before the ceremony for the knighthood. Instead, the honor was given by Maxim's "friend and new king, Edward VII," at Marlborough House on February 9, 1901.

Death

Maxim passed away at his home in Streatham, London on November 24, 1916, at the age of 76. He is buried in West Norwood Cemetery in South London, alongside his wife and his grandson, Lieutenant Colonel Maxim Joubert.

Family

Hiram Maxim’s brother, Hudson Maxim, was also a military inventor who worked with explosives. They collaborated closely until later in life, when they had a disagreement about a patent for smokeless powder. Hiram claimed the patent was issued under the name "H. Maxim," which he believed allowed his brother to take credit for the invention. Hudson was an experienced man who sold weapons in the United States, while Hiram focused on work in Europe. Hudson’s success in the U.S. made Hiram feel jealous, as he described having a "double" of himself in America. These feelings and disagreements created a lasting conflict between the brothers that continued for the rest of their lives.

Hiram Maxim married Jane Budden, an English woman, on May 11, 1867, in Boston, Massachusetts. Their children were Hiram Percy Maxim, Florence Maxim (who married George Albert Cutter), and Adelaide Maxim (who married Eldon Joubert, who was the piano tuner for Ignacy Jan Paderewski). In 1875, the family moved to Fanwood, New Jersey, and Hiram joined them on weekends.

Hiram Percy Maxim followed his father’s and uncle’s careers by becoming a mechanical engineer and weapons designer. He is best known for his early experiments with radio and for founding the American Radio Relay League. He invented the "Maxim Silencer" to reduce noise, but it was too late to help his father’s hearing. Hiram Percy later wrote a biography titled A Genius in the Family, which included about 60 short stories about his childhood experiences with his father. These stories offer a personal view of Hiram Maxim’s life. A film titled So Goes My Love, loosely inspired by these stories and starring Don Ameche and Myrna Loy, was released in 1946.

In 1881, Hiram Maxim married Sarah, the daughter of Charles Haynes from Boston. It is unclear if he was legally divorced from his first wife, Jane Budden, at this time. Their marriage was also recorded in Westminster, London, in 1890.

A woman named Helen Leighton claimed in court that Hiram had married her in 1878 and that he was committing bigamy by marrying Jane Budden. She also said he had a child named Romaine with her. The case was dropped after Hiram paid less than $1,000 (the original request was $25,000), and he avoided public embarrassment. In October 1898, Helen Leighton again accused Hiram of bigamy and abandonment in Poughkeepsie, New York. Later in life, Hiram left 4,000 British pounds to a person named Romaine Dennison, possibly the child Helen Leighton claimed he had fathered.

Books

• Artificial and Natural Flight by Whittaker (1908).
• Artificial and Natural Flight (Second Edition with Supplement). Whittaker (1909).
• Li Hung Chang's Scrapbook.
• A New System of Preventing Collisions at Sea by Schwarz Press (2009). ISBN 978-1-4446-0553-2. Archived on July 24, 2012. Retrieved September 20, 2009.
• My Life by Methuen & Co., Ltd. (1915). ISBN 9781408609675. Note: ISBN/Date incompatibility (help).
• Monte Carlo Facts and Fallacies by Grant Richards (1904).