Sir Hiram Maxim’s Pipe of Peace | Hacker News Reader

Sir Hiram Maxim’s Pipe of Peace

historicalfirearms.info

36 pointssmacktoward12 comments

Great find. As a glassblower who has made a fair bit of pipes and vape accessories, I definitely appreciate this… Other than that he used it for cocaine. That does make him even more of a pioneer. Given the position of cannabis in the pre–prohibition pharmacopoeia, I’d be surprised if these devices were not employed for hemp and marijuana inhalation as well.

I REALLY really recommend that you read "A Genius In The Family" by Hiram Percy Maxim, his son. It's absolutely bonkers hilarious and a nice window into the inventor himself, who apparently loved to cause a ruckus and a good laugh.

Gutenberg link: http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks09/0900131.txt

Random fact: Sir Hiram’s son Hiram P. Maxim went on to co-found the American Radio Relay League, the national organization of Amateur Radio.

This Hiram Maxim ('Hiram Stevens'), i just learned, is not to be confused with 'Hiram Percy', co-founder of the American Radio League and inventor of the 'Maxim silencer' for firearms.

(Phew had me going there for a second.)

The silencer (and car muffler) inventor was the son of the machine gun inventor.

> Pipe of Peace

For some reason, at first I thought this must be about the Maxim machine gun. It is considered by some the first true "weapon of mass destruction." The gun was used extensively in the "war to end all wars."

Same here, like the Colt Peacemaker or something.

My ancestor!

Tell us more!

The Maxims were Huguenots (French protestants) who fled the persecution of Catholic King Louis XIV. Hiram's great-grandfather Samuel Maxim emigrated to Massachusetts sometime around 1710. The spellings of the surname bounced around a bit, some preferring Maxam, others Muxham, Moxom, and Maxham. I think roughly half of the modern descendants live in Vermont.

Hiram, his brother Hudson, and son Hiram Percy were prolific inventors, mostly in the field of armaments (sadly). Hiram was born in Maine but moved to England and was later knighted.

I am not a direct descendant but am in the (fairly sparse) family tree under Samuel.

More details here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiram_Maxim

Prolific inventor indeed!

a "maxim" inhaler? I'd rather an axiom inhaler. in with the axioms, out with the proofs

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