The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1916-11-24
MAXIM, INVENTOR,
DIED in LONDON
Though American Born, He Became. Brit
ish Subject and Was Knighted in
1911 and Received Othef
Distinctions

London, Nov 24.--Sir Hiram Maxim
the inventor of the automatic system
of firearms, died to-day.
Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim, American.
born, was one of the most famous in
ventors, mechanical and electrical engi.
neers of Great Britain. He was most
widely known as the inventor of the
Maxim machine gun, which makes the
recoil of the weapon serve as the power
for reloading, and which is the weapon
largely used in the European war to.
day.
! He was born in Sangerville, Me-, Feb
ruary 5, 1910, the son of Isaac Weston
and Harriet NJ. Maxim, and received only
a common school education, but he ac-
quired scientific knowledge by reading
and attending lectures He went to Eng
land in 1881, and had resided there ever
since. He was knighted by Queen Vic
toria in 1901
His son, Hiram Percy Maxim, is well
known inventor in the United States,
known particularly as the inventor of
the Maxim silencer.
For many years Sir Hiram was a di-
rector in the firm OF Vickers Sons and
Maxim, but resigned that post in 1911.
For more than thirty years he expert
mented in aeronautics and invented fly
ing machines In the light of the pres
ent war, with its numerous German air
ship raids on England, it is remarkably
interesting to recall that eight years ago
Sir Hiram tooh the British nation to
task for its small interest in aeronautics,
u,1I faI la,, h.
planes were in their infancy, that Eng
land was in grave danger of lombard
ment by airships.
Does any one doubt for a moment"
said he, that in case we find ourselves
at war with a continental power, air
ships will be used for bombarding Eng
lsh towns, both on the coast and in
landg The city of London within q
years time can be attacked without our
enemy needing to fear the boasted Brit !
ish fleet"
Following the success of the Wright I
biplane, Sir Hiram renewed his long con.
tinued interest in aviation and in 1910 |
perfected a machine which he declared |
bad certain advantages over the Wright's. /
IL was he who, with others, interested /
the British government in beginning its
OF an aerial navy, and |
though he was then 70 years old he
lived to see the great war bring air fight
ing to pass in even greater measures,
probably, than he himself had dreamed.
In addition to his gun and aeroplane,
le patented many electrical inventions,
including incandesent lamps, self-rcgu
ating current machines, several pieces
If ordnance, and a smokeless powder.
The aged inventor took a keen inter-
st in the war, and from time te -77me-1-
here were unconfrmed reports of his in
'ention of devices to meet the needs
# the war, one OF them being an appar-
tus to counteraet the effects OF the
poisonous gases which the Germans were
rst to bring into use. In 1915 he was
ppointed a member of the invention
'oard of the British munition depart
nent under Lloyd George.
Sir Hiram applied himself so strenu
usly to science throughout his long life
hat even his recreations were given by :
i'm as reading scientific books and
tudyng the abstract science" He wrote
many important articles and an auto
biography, my Life" in 1915.
He was a chevalier of the Legion of
Ionor, a member of the American So u
ety of Civil Engineers, the Royal So a
ety of Arts, the British Association for I
he Advancement of Science and numer- q
us other scientific bodies.