Maxim, Hudson (1853-1927), was an American inventor and explosives expert. He invented maximite, an explosive one and a half times as powerful as dynamite. Maxim also developed a smokeless powder and other types of explosives; a self-propelled torpedo; and a torpedo ram.
Maxim was born in Orneville, Maine, and worked first as a book publisher. He later became interested in explosives and worked briefly in the gun factory of his brother Sir Hiram Maxim. In 1893, Hudson Maxim established the Maxim Powder Company to manufacture explosives. Four years later, he sold the plant and his patents to E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. Maxim served as an adviser to the Du Pont Company from 1897 until his death.
