Maxim, Hiram
Maxim, Hiram (1840–1916), self‐taught engineer and inventor of the first automatic machine gun.Born in Maine, Maxim's early work focused on electrical design and the incandescent light bulb. In the early 1880s, he moved to London as representative of the U.S. Electric Lighting Company. As a sideline, he experimented with early machine guns. In 1885, Maxim developed a single‐barrel weapon that could fire 500 rounds of ammunition a minute. Although not the first machine gun, the Maxim gun, as it was called, remained vastly superior to the earlier multibarreled hand‐cranked Gatling gun (1862) and the Nordenfelt gun (1877). An avid promoter, Maxim effectively cultivated support from the British royal family and other influential Britons, which helped promote the adoption of the Maxim gun by the British army (1889) and the Royal Navy (1892). His company was consolidated with the Vickers Company in 1896. He became a British subject in 1900 and was knighted in 1901. His brother, Hudson Maxim (1853–1927), remained in the United States and developed a high explosive (Maximite). Despite the technical superiority of the Maxim gun, the U.S. Army resisted using it until 1904.
Neither Maxim nor most military men initially recognized the revolutionary impact the Maxim gun would have on the nature of battle. Although the machine gun would be used with deadly effectiveness by British imperial forces in suppressing colonial insurrections in Africa, few anticipated its extensive use in European warfare beginning in World War I.
Neither Maxim nor most military men initially recognized the revolutionary impact the Maxim gun would have on the nature of battle. Although the machine gun would be used with deadly effectiveness by British imperial forces in suppressing colonial insurrections in Africa, few anticipated its extensive use in European warfare beginning in World War I.
Bibliography
Hiram S. Maxim , My Life, 1915.
John Ellis , The Social History of the Machine Gun, 1975.
G. Kurt Piehler
More From encyclopedia.com
Machine Gun , Machine Guns are repeating firearms that when triggered will load and fire automatically until their ammunition is exhausted. In 1861, the U.S. Army… Sewing Machine , Background
Before 1900, women spent many of their daylight hours sewing clothes for themselves and their families by hand. Women also formed the majo… Machine , machine, arrangement of moving and stationary mechanical parts used to perform some useful work or to provide transportation. From a historical persp… Herman Hollerith , Hollerith, Herman
Hollerith, Herman
(1860-1929)
Engineer and Inventor
Overview
Herman Hollerith made a major contribution to the development of the m… Typewriter , TYPEWRITER. The idea of the typewriter emerged long before the technology existed for its practical or economical production. A patent was issued in… Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim , The American-born British inventor Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim (1840-1916) is chiefly known for the automatic rifle, or machine gun, that bears his name.…
You Might Also Like
NEARBY TERMS
Maxim, Hiram