Maxim, Sir Hiram (Stevens)
- Maxim, Sir Hiram (Stevens)
-
born Feb. 5, 1840, Sangerville, Maine, U.S.
died Nov. 24, 1916, London, Eng.
U.S.-British inventor.
Son of a Maine farmer, he was apprenticed to a carriage maker. He became chief engineer of the U.S. Electric Lighting Co. (1878–81), for which he introduced carbon filaments for electric lightbulbs. At his lab in London he began working on a fully automatic
machine gun; in 1884 he succeeded with a design that used the recoil of the barrel to eject the spent cartridges and reload the chamber. He also developed his own smokeless
gunpowder,
cordite. Soon every army was equipped with Maxim guns or adaptations. His other inventions included a hair-curling iron, a pneumatic gun, and an airplane (1894). His Maxim Gun Co. was eventually absorbed into Vickers, Ltd. His son Hiram Percy (1869–1936) invented the Maxim silencer for
rifles, which he adapted to mufflers and other technologies, and designed the Columbia electric automobile.
* * *
Universalium.
2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
Maxim,Sir Hiram Stevens — Max·im (măkʹsĭm), Sir Hiram Stevens. 1840 1916. American born British inventor of an automatic, recoil operated machine gun (1884), which was widely used during World War I. His brother Hudson (1853 1927) invented smokeless gun powder, and his… … Universalium
Maxim, Sir Hiram (Stevens) — (5 feb. 1840, Sangerville, Maine, EE.UU.–24 nov. 1916, Londres, Inglaterra). Inventor británico nacido en EE.UU. Hijo de un granjero de Maine, fue colocado como aprendiz de un fabricante de carruajes. Llegó a ser ingeniero jefe de U.S. Electric… … Enciclopedia Universal
Hiram Stevens Maxim — This article is about Hiram Stevens Maxim. For his son, automotive pioneer and co founder of the ARRL, see Hiram Percy Maxim. Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim Born February 5, 1840(1840 02 05) Sangerville, Maine … Wikipedia
Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim — noun English inventor (born in the United States) who invented the Maxim gun that was used in World War I (1840 1916) • Syn: ↑Maxim • Instance Hypernyms: ↑inventor, ↑discoverer, ↑artificer … Useful english dictionary
Hiram Stevens Maxim — Retrato de Hiram Stevens Maxim. Nacimiento … Wikipedia Español
Hiram Stevens Maxim — Hiram Maxim Hiram Stevens Maxim (1912) Hiram Stevens Maxim (5 février 1840 24 novembre 1916) est un inventeur britannique d origine américaine. Il a notamment inventé la mitrailleuse Maxi … Wikipédia en Français
Hiram Stevens Maxim — Hiram S. Maxim Maxim Maschinengewehr ca. 1910 Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim (* 5. Februar 1840 in Sangerville … Deutsch Wikipedia
Maxim Gun — , MAXIM SILENCER There were three Maxims, all inventors. The elder Maxim, Sir Hiram Stevens (1840 1916), was born near Sangerville, Maine. He moved to England and became a naturalized British citizen. Between the years 1881 and 1884, he… … Dictionary of eponyms
Stevens — Stevens, Siaka Probyn Stevens, Wallace * * * (as used in expressions) Hewitt, Abram S(tevens) Maxim, Sir Hiram (Stevens) Ruby Stevens Stevens, George Stevens, John Stevens, John Paul Stevens, Robert Livingston … Enciclopedia Universal
Hiram — /huy reuhm/, n. 1. a king of Tyre in the 10th century B.C. I Kings 5. 2. a male given name: from a Hebrew word meaning noble. * * * (as used in expressions) Hiram Ulysses Grant Maxim Sir Hiram Stevens Powers Hiram Revels Hiram Rhoades Hiram King… … Universalium
