The Hawaiian gazette., 1916-12-01
Funeral Of Sir Hiram Maxim At
tended BY Many Prominent
Men OF Science
KICK OF A GUN MAKES
HIM A BRITISH KNIGHT
RecoiI of Old MSket Gives Him
Idea For His Famous
Machine Gun
ASSOCIATED Presp BY Fec ,taI wirsIsss>

ASSOCIATED Presp BY Fec ,raI wireIessD
LONDON NJ. ember 90-Sir Hiram
Maxim, inventor Of the rapid fire gun
which carries his name and the first
man to manufacture smukelpss powder,
who died ut his residence here on
Saturday was buried yesterday. The
funeral. which was attended by many
Of the Leading scientists of the nation.
was n simple one, there being no re-
ligiOus ceremonies.
In charge of the ceremonies, which
consisted of number OF Pulogistic
speeches in honor Of the memory Of the
dead scientists. were a number of the
leaders Of the free thinkers movement,
of which Sir Hiram had been an ad-
vorate. The Leading speaker declared
that Sir Hiram had died convinced of
the fact that modern knowledge and
science are Incompatible with the
theology Of the Christian religion
Born An American
Sir Hiram Maxim was born an
American, his birthplace being Sanger.
vile, Maine. He was born in 1910 and
lived in the United States until he
was forty-thrce years old, when he
took his newly.inventCd gun to Eng
land and settled there. II was the
kick Of gun which made him British
knight The recoil of the first musket
which he fired knocked him down and
he arose with u bruised cheek and
new idea, the idea OF utilizing the
force Of the recoil to load and fire o
gun again.
Perhaps no American engineer has
done so much for the American name
in Europe as Sir Hiram. At an early
| age he became familiar with the use Of
tools, his father being wood-turner.
He was by turns employed by a car.
ringc making shop, in wood working
ing factories and various machine
| shops in MHssaC husetts and New York.
His inventive talent soon developed
and he took out Il number Of patents
in the early seventies relating to the
manufacture of carbuUeted air for
; ii citing places out of the reach Of coal
gas. In 1873. Mr. Maxim became man.
aging director of the newly organized
| United States Electric Lighting Com.
pany. and his several inventions relat.
| ing t" electric lighting were intro
durrd. He was thus identified with
the very earliest practical work of this
as one of the foremost inventors in the
developing electric field.
First Patent In America
Mr.. Maxim first elect rical patent
was filed in the United States Patent
| Office in October. 1873, and was grant.
ed in August, 1880. In this patent the
process Of the deposition of carbon by
heating carbon rods electrically in an
| atmosphere Of nitro.carbon gases was
| described and this proved to be one
Of the most essential steps in the pro-
ducton If the commercial incandeScent
lamp.
In 1883 Mr.. Maxim moved to Eng.
| land and soon brought out his auto
matte machine gun. The early history
of this invention, like most great ones,
| was full of discourugemen and trial to
the ambitious and eager American.
At that time the field was quite new.
n" one had experimental with view
to making Il gun that would load and
fire itself. The patents taken out by
Mr. Maxim included about u thousand
claims and covered every conceivable
way of working IL machine gun by
energy derived from a burning powder.
His labor at this period was almost
without parallel, and his final success
worthy nf his strenuous efforts. When
it was announced in London that an
American electrical engineer had made
IL machine gun that would load and
fire itself without any human agency.
employing the energy of the recOil,
everyone was iucrcdulous. The gun
was placed on exhibition, proved it's
effectiveness, and was soon the talk
Of the city and the world. The little
workshop Of the inventor at HattOn
Garden was visited by everybody who
could get there, including the then
Prince Of Wales, tn" late King Ed.
wand.
Opens a New Era
The Maxim gun opened new era in
tn" manufacture of firearms, both III
its method and in the construction OF
it's carriage. From it sprang ALL the
rapid fire guns in use today.
In 1877 a British patent was issued
t" Mr.. Maxim to cover method OF
making smUkrless powder, II compound
Of nitro Elyceliu and guncUttOn. Other
patents to the same inventor soon fol.
lowed. Then came remarkable trial
III the courts of England to settle the
question # the priority of invention of
>m"k, less powder, in which Mr.. Maxim
rumr of victorious. ard received the
unusual Endorsement of the house OF
lords. In his work of developing and
refining smOkeless powder it is stated
that more than one hundred kinds were
rxprrimrnted with.
Sir Hiram Maxim was member Of
the firm Of NickcrS, Sons 4 Maxim,
one Of the most important under the
British flag, II company that is said t.
be the first in the world to build in it's
own works IL r"Inplrte battlrship, in
Guiding hull, Hrm"r plate, boilers, en,
sinrs, small machine guns aud up t.
thirteen inch monsters.
France Fonors Him
At the Paris Exposition of 1881 Mr.
Maxim was made Chevulicr of the
Legion Of Honor for making and OK