Maxim, << MAK sihm, >> Sir Hiram Stevens (1840-1916), was an inventor who developed an automatic weapon called the Maxim gun. This gun uses the force of recoil caused by the explosion of a cartridge to throw out the empty shell and ram home a new one. Its invention changed many warfare methods.
Maxim was born near Sangerville, Maine. He worked for a time in a machine shop and in a shipbuilding yard. He did early inventive work on gas-generating plants and electric lighting. He lost his rights to an important patent in a lawsuit with Thomas Edison. Maxim then moved to England, where he set up the Maxim Gun Company. The company later merged with the Vickers munitions company.
Maxim experimented with internal-combustion engines for automobiles and airplanes. In 1894, he tested a steam-powered airplane that actually lifted itself off the ground. Maxim became a British citizen in 1900 and was knighted in 1901. See Airplane (Powered flight) ; Machine gun .
