Editing Hiram Maxim (section)

{{Short description|American-British inventor (1840–1916)}}
{{About|Hiram Stevens Maxim|his son, automotive pioneer and co-founder of the [[ARRL]] |Hiram Percy Maxim|his brother|Hudson Maxim}}
{{EngvarB|date=April 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix   = [[Sir]]
| name               = Hiram Maxim
| image              = Maxim portrait.jpg
| caption            = Maxim {{circa}} 1916
| birth_name         = Hiram Stevens Maxim
| birth_date         = {{birth date|df=yes|1840|2|5}}
| birth_place        = [[Sangerville, Maine|Sangerville]], [[Maine]], [[United States]]
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1916|11|24|1840|2|5}}
| death_place        = [[Streatham]], [[London]], [[England]], [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]]
| death_cause        = 
| resting_place      = [[West Norwood Cemetery]]
| resting_place_coordinates = {{coord|51.43354|-0.10314|type:landmark|display=inline}}
| nationality        = 
| other_names        = 
| known_for          = Inventor of [[Maxim gun]] <br/> Claimed inventor of [[lightbulb]]
| education          = 
| employer           = 
| occupation         = [[Inventor]]
| spouse             = Jane Budden (1867–1881?)<br/>Sarah Haynes (1881–1916, his death)
| partner            = 
| children           = [[Hiram Percy Maxim]]<br /> Florence Maxim Cutter<br /> Adelaide Maxim Joubert
| parents            = 
| relatives          = [[Hudson Maxim]] (brother)
| signature          = 
| website            = 
| footnotes          = 
}}

'''Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim''' (5 February 1840 – 24 November 1916) was an [[Americans|American]]-born [[British people|British]] inventor best known as the creator of the first [[Automatic firearm|automatic]] [[machine gun]], the [[Maxim gun]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Great Inventors and Inventions|publisher=Courier Dover Publications|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V1h_0wb_AM4C&q=Hiram+Maxim+and+inventor+of+Maxim+gun&pg=PA24|isbn=9780486297842|date=10 July 1997}}</ref> Maxim held [[patents]] on numerous mechanical devices such as [[hair iron|hair-curling irons]], a [[mousetrap]], and [[steam pump]]s. Maxim laid claim to inventing the [[lightbulb]].<ref>{{cite book|title=They All Laughed...: From Light Bulbs to Lasers: The Fascinating Stories|publisher=HarperCollins|url=https://archive.org/details/theyalllaughedfr00flat|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/theyalllaughedfr00flat/page/11 11]|quote=Hiram Maxim and light bulb.|isbn=9780060924157|date=30 June 1993}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of military technology and innovation |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HN3AUx_3Mn4C&q=mousetrap&pg=PA167|isbn=9781573565578|year=2004|last1 = Bull|first1 = Stephen}}</ref>

Maxim experimented with [[powered flight]];  his large aircraft designs were never successful. Circa 1904 he designed a highly successful [[amusement ride]] called the "Captive Flying Machine" to fund his research while generating public interest in [[flight]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ccymjJZxLcC&q=Hiram+Maxim+and+powered+flight&pg=PA31|title=The American aviation experience: a history |publisher=SIU Press|isbn=9780809323715|year=2000|last1 = Brady|first1 = Tim}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/playfulcrowdplea0000cros|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/playfulcrowdplea0000cros/page/45 45]|quote=Captive Flying Machine.|title=The playful crowd: pleasure places in the twentieth century|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=9780231127240|year=2005}}</ref>

Maxim moved from the United States to the United Kingdom at the age of 41, and remained an American citizen until he became a [[Naturalization|naturalised]] [[British citizen]] in 1899, and received a [[knighthood]] in 1901.<ref>{{cite book|title=Sir Hiram Maxim|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/370419/Sir-Hiram-Maxim}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Who's who in World War One|publisher=Psychology Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=06TdWzZyH3sC&q=Hiram+Stevens+Maxim+nationality&pg=PA201|isbn=9780203438817|date=1 June 2002}}</ref>