История создания первых самолетов
Братья по крылу: первый полет самолета Райт и эра аэронавтики
... декабря исполнится 120 лет со дня первого в истории полета самолета ... Специалисты отмечают, что большой заслугой изобретателей стало создание ...
сумело оторваться от земли
Если брать более ранний период, то в начале XIX века британский теоретик и практик аэронавтики Джордж Кейли опубликовал работу "О воздушной навигации", подводя итоги своих исследований и положив начало научным изысканиям в области аэродинамики. Кейли строил и полноразмерные планеры. В середине века британский инженер Уильям Хэнсон получил патент на "летающий паровой экипаж", при этом его аппарат содержал все современные признаки самолета — крыло, управляемое хвостовое оперение, двигатель, приводящий в движение воздушные винты, фюзеляж и шасси. Модели летательных аппаратов различных размеров с пружинным, паровым и даже ракетным двигателями строили и с разной степенью успешности испытывали многие изобретатели. Самолет с паровым двигателем построил Хайрем Максим, конструктор знаменитого пулемета — его изобретение даже <anchor>сумело оторваться от земли</anchor>, но ввиду несовершенства аэродинамики неспособно было совершать длительный полет.
Hiram Maxim | Machine Gun, Firearms Designer & Engineer | Britannica
Hiram Maxim \| Machine Gun, Firearms Designer & Engineer \| Britannica

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[Hiram Maxim](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hiram-Maxim)

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[![](https://cdn.britannica.com/13/115513-050-C7591C0D/Hiram-Maxim.jpg?w=300)](https://cdn.britannica.com/13/115513-050-C7591C0D/Hiram-Maxim.jpg)

[Sir Hiram Maxim.](https://cdn.britannica.com/13/115513-050-C7591C0D/Hiram-Maxim.jpg)(more)

# Hiram Maxim

American inventor



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Also known as: Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim


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Quick Facts

In full: Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim_(Show more)_

Born: February 5, 1840, Sangerville, [Maine](/place/Maine-state), U.S._(Show more)_

Died: November 24, 1916, [London](/place/London), [England](/place/England) (aged 76)_(Show more)_

[See all related content →](/facts/Hiram-Maxim)

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**Hiram Maxim** (born February 5, 1840, Sangerville, [Maine](https://www.britannica.com/place/Maine-state), U.S.—died November 24, 1916, [London](https://www.britannica.com/place/London), England) was a [prolific](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prolific) inventor best known for the [Maxim machine gun](https://www.britannica.com/technology/Maxim-machine-gun).

The eldest son of a farmer who was a locally notable mechanic, Maxim was apprenticed at age 14 to a carriage maker. Exhibiting an early genius for invention, he obtained his first patent in 1866, for a hair-curling iron. His iron was followed by a device for generating [illuminating](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/illuminating) gas and a locomotive headlight. In 1878 he was hired as chief engineer of the [United States](https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States) Electric Lighting Company, the first such company in the United States. In that post he produced a basic invention, a method of manufacturing carbon filaments. In 1881 he exhibited an electric pressure regulator at the Paris Exposition.

[![ball bearing. Disassembled ball bearing. rotational friction Automobile Industry, Engineering, Industry, Machine Part, Metal Industry, Sphere, Steel, Wheel](https://cdn.britannica.com/65/166065-131-7C59DB40/ball-bearing-friction-Automobile-Industry-Sphere-Wheel.jpg)\
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Inventors and Inventions](/quiz/inventors-and-inventions)

His interest in the problem of automatic weapons led him to settle in London, where in 1884 he produced the first satisfactory fully automatic [machine gun](https://www.britannica.com/technology/machine-gun), employing the recoil of the barrel for ejecting the spent cartridges and reloading the chamber. To improve its [efficiency](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/efficiency), he developed his own smokeless powder, [cordite](https://www.britannica.com/technology/cordite). Within a few years every army was equipped with Maxim guns or [adaptations](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adaptations).

In the 1890s Maxim experimented with [airplanes](https://www.britannica.com/technology/airplane), producing one powered by a light [steam engine](https://www.britannica.com/technology/steam-engine) that successfully rose from the ground; he recognized that the real solution to flight was the [internal-combustion engine](https://www.britannica.com/technology/internal-combustion-engine) but did not attempt to develop it. His hundreds of patents in the United States and Great Britain included a mousetrap, an automatic sprinkling system, an automatic steam-powered water pump, vacuum pumps, engine governors, and gas motors.

His Maxim Gun Company, founded in 1884, was later absorbed into Vickers, Ltd., of which he became a director. In 1900 he became a naturalized British subject, and in 1901 he was knighted by Queen Victoria.

This article was most recently revised and updated by [Encyclopaedia Britannica](/contributor/encyclopaedia-britannica/12989892).