Hiram Maxim

Circa 1904 he designed a highly successful amusement ride called the "Captive Flying Machine" to fund his research while generating public interest in flight.[8] He became an apprentice coachbuilder at the age of 14 and ten years later, took up a job at the machine works of his uncle, Levi Stephens, at Fitchburg, Massachusetts.One of these actions regarded the incandescent bulb, for which Maxim claimed that Edison was credited by means of his better understanding of patenting law.Maxim claimed that an employee of his had falsely patented the invention under his own name, and that Edison proved the employee's claim to be false, knowing that patent law would mean the invention would become public property, allowing Edison to manufacture the lightbulb without crediting Maxim as the true inventor.He thoughtfully ran announcements in the local press warning that he would be experimenting with the gun in his garden and that neighbours should keep their windows open to avoid the danger of broken glass.[15] Maxim founded an arms company with financial backing from Edward Vickers to produce his machine gun in Crayford, Kent, which later merged with Nordenfelt.With arms sales led by Basil Zaharoff, variants of the Maxim gun were bought and used extensively by both sides during World War I.[17] Construction started in 1889 of a 40-foot-long (12 m) craft with a 110-foot (34 m) wingspan that weighed 3.5 tons, powered by two lightweight naptha-fired 360-horsepower (270 kW) steam engines driving two 17-foot-diameter (5.2 m) laminated pine propellers.[21] During its test run, all the outriggers were engaged, showing that it had developed enough lift to take off, but in so doing, it pulled up the track; the tethered "flight" was aborted in time to prevent disaster.Maxim originally intended to use primitive aerofoils and wings to allow riders to control their flight, but this was outlawed as unsafe.Nevertheless, his company built several more rides of various sizes at The Crystal Palace and various seaside resorts including Southport, New Brighton, and Blackpool, all of which opened in 1904.In 2001, Disney California Adventure Park opened, featuring the Golden Zephyr, a modern-day recreation of the Traver version of the ride.[26] In addition to his engineering endeavors, Maxim, a lifelong atheist[27][28] "compiled and edited" a book he called Li Hung Chang's Scrapbook.[36][37] He is buried in south London's West Norwood Cemetery with his wife and his grandson, Lieutenant Colonel Maxim Joubert.[42][43] A woman called Helen Leighton brought a case against Maxim, claiming that he had married her in 1878 and that "he was knowingly committing bigamy" against his current wife, Jane Budden.
Maxim caricatured by Spy for Vanity Fair , 1904
Image from the April 1895 edition Cassier's Magazine , showing Hiram Maxim and the Maxim gun , along with Louis Cassier and J. Bucknall Smith
Maxim's flying machine
The Sir Hiram Maxim Captive Flying Machines operating at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in 2006
Gravestone of Sir Hiram Maxim
Hiram Percy MaximHudson MaximSangervilleStreathamWest Norwood CemeteryInventorMaxim gunlightbulbautomaticmachine gunpatentshair-curling ironsmousetrapsteam pumpspowered flightamusement rideflightnaturalisedBritish citizenknighthoodFrench HuguenotcoachbuilderFitchburg, Massachusettsbronchitismentholinhalerasthmatinnitushay fevercatarrhquackeryVanity Fairfire sprinklerEquitable Life Building (New York City)BroadwayEdward WestonThomas Edisonincandescent bulbpatentingCassier's MagazineLord ThurlowWest NorwoodEdward VickersCrayfordNordenfeltVickersVickers machine gunBasil ZaharoffWorld War Iwind tunnelnapthasteam enginesBexleyBlackpool Pleasure BeachEarl's Court exhibitionHarry TraverThe Crystal PalaceSouthportNew BrightonBlackpoolPleasure Beachriver cavesDisney California Adventure ParkGolden ZephyrGrahame-WhiteBlériotatheistLi Hung ChangmissionariesChevalier of the Legion of HonourLondon Chamber of CommerceRoyal InstitutionBritish Association for the Advancement of ScienceBritish Empire LeagueRoyal Society of ArtsQueen VictoriaEdward VIIMarlborough HouseLieutenant Colonelexplosivessmokeless powderBostonMassachusettsIgnacy Jan PaderewskiFanwood, New Jerseyamateur radioAmerican Radio Relay LeaguesuppressionSo Goes My LoveDon AmecheMyrna LoyWestminsterWilliam CanteloThe London GazetteNew York TimesMaxim, Hiram PercyWikisourceProject GutenbergInternet ArchiveWayback Machine