| Hudson Maxim | |
|---|---|
Hudson Maxim in 1922 |
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| Born | February 3, 1853 Orneville, Maine |
| Died | May 6, 1927 (aged 74) Post Office in Landing, New Jersey |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Occupation | Inventor, chemist |
| Known for | Inventing smokeless gunpowder |
| Relatives | Hiram Percy Maxim Hiram Stevens Maxim |
Hudson Maxim (February 3, 1853 – May 6, 1927), was a U.S. inventor and chemist who invented a variety of explosives, including smokeless gunpowder. He was the brother of Hiram Stevens Maxim, inventor of the Maxim gun and uncle of Hiram Percy Maxim, inventor of the Maxim Silencer.
Maxim was a man of many talents. He started his career in 1881 as the publisher of Real Pen Work - Self Instructor in Penmanship, a book addressing the arts of calligraphy and penmanship, and the sale of special inks, pens, and other supplies related to penmanship. Later he joined his brother Hiram Stevens Maxim's workshop in the United Kingdom, where they both worked on the improvement of smokeless gunpowder. After some disputes, Hudson Maxim returned to the USA and developed a number of stable high explosives, the rights of which were sold to the DuPont company.
During World War I, Maxim wrote a book, Defenseless America, in which he pointed out the inferiority of the American defence system and the vulnerability of the country against attacks of foreign aggressors. His good friend, Elbert Hubbard, died on the RMS Lusitania when it was torpedoed by a German submarine. This event fueled his belief that the USA should improve its defenses and join the war against Germany on the side of the Entente.
Maxim also wrote the book The Science of Poetry and the Philosophy of Language about the nature and writing of poetry. In this work, he contended that words, like chemical particles, had natural laws that governed the manner in which they could be combined into verse, and that poetry perceived as excellent was in fact one that conformed to those laws. He also argued that certain famous poets (William Shakespeare, William Wordsworth) had discovered those laws and put them to use in their poetry.
During his experimental career, he lost his left hand in a mercury fulminate explosion in 1912. Hudson lived out his latter years at his estate on the shores of Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey. He was a great promoter and supporter of the development of Lake Hopatcong and the Borough of Hopatcong and is honored by a memorial in Lake Hopatcong State Park.
He was an important member of the College of Fellows of the Academy of Nations.