Evening star., 1916-11-24

SIR HIRAM $. MAXIM.
| LONDON, November "a, $50 am
Sir Hiram Maxim, inventor of the auto
matte system of firearms. died at his
home here early this morning.
| Sir Hiram Maxim was born in Sanger
Vile, Me-. February 5. 1870. He was
a descendant OF English Purita1.s, who
were among the early settlers of
Plymouth county. Mass. After meager
schooling he went to work in a ma
chine shop and later was employed in
the machine works of his uncle. Levy
Stevens, at Fitchburg, Mass. AT twenty
eight he was a craftsman in a large
York city, where he invented new
locomotive headlight which went into
general use. He also did much to per-
feet automatic gas machines for light
UP the question of electricity and was
among the first to make dynamo cleo
trio machines and electric lamps in
the United States. He took out a great
many patents on electrical machinery
and in 1881 was made chevalier OF
the Legion of Honor by President
Grevy. r.sA-sg.s ay-
The Maxim automatic gun was In
vented 1881, III iOIuoI, anu NdS fh-
mediately adopted by the British gov
ernment, which used it in the war v 18th
Matabele. The gun fired 800 rounds
minute, and caused such slaughter that
parliament seriously discussed the
question as to whether its use was JUS
tilted Some years later Sir Hiram,
created a baronet by Queen Victoria. in
1901, after having become naturalized
as an Englishman, invented the first
smokeless powder.
Invented a Flying Machine.
In 1894 Sir Hiram Maxim invented a
heavier-than- -air flying machine. which
raised itself from the ground carrying
a driver and passenger. This was nine
years before the first practicable air
plane was created by the Wright
brothers Sir Hiram's machine was
, ponderous affair. and broke down in its
early trial. In 1915 the inventor was
appointed member of the inventions
board created by the government to
meet the needs of the war.
He went to England in 1851, and had
resided there ever since
His son, Hiram Percy Maxim, is a
well known inventor in the United
States, known particularly as the in
yentor of the Maxim silencer.
For many years Sir Hiram was a di-
rector in the firm of Vickers' Sons &
Maxim. but resigned that post in 1911.
mented in aeronautics and invented
flying machines. In the light of the
present war, with its numerous Ger
man airship raids on England. it is re-
| markably interesting to recall that
| eight years ago Sir Hiram took the
! British nation to task for its small in
! terest in aeronautics. and pointed then,
at time when aeroplanes were in
| their infancy, that England was in
/ grave danger of bombardment by air
| ships.
| Does any one doubt for u moment"
| said he. that in case we find ourselves
| at war with a continental power, air
ships will be used for bombarding
! English towns. both on the coast and
| inland? The city of London within a
| years time can be attacked without
! our enemy needing to fear the boasted
| British fleet"
Interested Britain in Aviation.
! Following the success of the Wright
| biplane, Sir Hiram renewed his long
! continued interest in aviation, and in
| 1910 perfected machine which he de-
clared had certain advantages over the
| Wrights'. 1t was he who. with others,
interested the British government in
| beginning its organization of an aerial
/ navy, and though he was then seventy
! years old. he lived to see the great war
| bring air fighting to pass in even
| greater measure. probably. than he
! himself had dreamed.
In addition to his gun and airplane
he patented many electrical inventions
| including incandescent lamps, self
=, regulating current machines. several
pieces of ordnance and a smokless pow =
der.
| The inventor took a keen interest in
the war, and from time to time there
were unconfirmed reports of his inven-
tion of devices to meet the needs of the
| war, one of them being an apparatus
to counteract the effects of the pois-
onous gases which the Germans were
I first to bring into use. In 1915 he was
appointed a member of the inventions
board of the British munitions depart
ment under Lloyd George.
Sir Hiram applied himself SO strenu-
ously to science throughout his LONG
life that even his recreations were
given by him as reading scientific
books and studying the abstract
sciences" He wrote many important
articles, and an autobiography. MY
Life" in 1915
| He was a member Of the American
Society Of Civil Engineers. the Royal
Society Of Arts. the British Association
for the Advancement Of Science and
numerous other scientific bodies. He
was the elder brother of Hudson
Maxim, the American inventor.