John William Lambert
Encyclopedia
John William Lambert was an American
automotive pioneer, inventor, and automobile manufacturer.
on a farm near Mechanicsburg, Ohio
. He lived there until he was fifteen. His early boyhood education was in the local public schools of the county. When Lambert was sixteen he moved with his parents to Van Wert County, Ohio for a year. At this time he was interested in gasoline engines.
One day his father had promised to take him to a tannery the next day to see an engine that could run without a steam boiler. This tannery was located in Greenville, Ohio
that his father had previously seen. When they arrived at the tannery the next morning, Lambert was disappointed to find that the building had burned to the ground the night before. He searched amongst the ashes and found the burned Otto gas engine. This was the only one he had ever heard of or seen. He took it apart to see how it was constructed. It was a slide valve coal gas engine.
After Lambert was married he moved to Ohio City, Ohio
, previously known as Enterprise, in Van Wert County, Ohio. There he formed J. W. Lambert and Company with his father as his partner. There he had an agricultural implement store, a grain elevator, and a lumber yard. They manufactured fork handles and spokes for wagons. Lambert also owned the town's opera house, town hall, jail and other town properties. Lambert always kept in the back of his mind the gas engine he saw in 1876. One day in the 1880s he heard of Karl Benz
building an automobile in Germany and it rekindled his imagine to build a gasoline engine that would operate a "horseless carriage."
Stationary gasoline engines were extremely heavy in those days and too much for a "horseless carriage." He studied Benz's engine to the best of ability. It so happened that a John B. Hicks had made a patent application in 1890 on a stationary gasoline engine. Lambert contacted Hicks and through Hicks was introduced to a Mr. Wacholtz, a German engineer who had worked with Hicks. On December 20, 1890 Wacholtz made a contract with Lambert to make a light weight automobile engine. The license granted to Lambert a shop right or license to manufacture gas engines embodying the improvements invented by the said Hicks as above stated for the use only on land vehicles other than railway or tramway cars.
Benz's automobile was belt driven from an engine. Lambert felt if he could make a light weight gasoline engine that did not operate with belts to propel it he would have a valuable transportation vehicle that could be utilized in the United States. Lambert hired Wacholtz to work with him on building a balanced motor containing three cylinders. He agreed to pay for all the expenses of the development of such an engine. The machine was done by Lowell Machine Works of Cleveland, Ohio
. One of the reasons the engine was fabricated in Cleveland was because they had gasoline available there. He also had the design and the body of "horseless carriage" done there. Also the running gears for the automobile were fabricated there. Lambert went to extremes to have the engine made light-weight. This was the first experience Lambert had with building an automobile engine. He originally agreed to spend $200 for the machine work to produce the automobile engine, however after spending $3,300 Wacholtz was not able to produce a working engine in Cleveland.
Lambert stopped the work at this stage of fabrication and shipped the non-working engine and incomplete automobile to a small machine shop that he owned in Ohio City. This way he could then devote his personal attention to the engine and automobile when he could from his businesses he was running there. The automobile consisted of two clutches and two chains, which were connected to a jack shaft. The two clutches gave two speeds forward and there was no reverse speed used. The single front wheel of the tricycle designed automobile was steered by a foot lever and a hand lever. This direct steering method provided that the arms could be rested and the steering done by the feet, and vice versa. One item that needed to be solved for completion and a working engine was a means of carburation
. Lambert heard of a means of vaporizing gasoline by Gottlieb Daimler
of Germany. He went to New York to see the engine that was operating a boat. After seeing this complicated carburetor Lambert developed what he called the "vaporizer." This was a simpler carburetor than Daimler's, which he was then able to get the engine working the way he intended it to. The automobile was completed soon after he had it Ohio City.
There was a great deal of secrecy surrounding the developments of Lambert's automobile. Operational tests were conducted with the window blinds pulled at the farm implement showroom where he ran it. Outside road tests were conducted at night on roads that were not used. That was a good thing since many times there were long intervals between being able to get the automobile started again after it stopped. It turned out that the villagers didn't even know what Lambert was working on since it was such a new concept. They didn't realize the significance of Lambert's horseless carriage. Lambert is said to have had the first automobile accident. One time when he was testing his "horseless carriage" at night in a secret run he drove his vehicle into a tree stump and ran into a hitching post.
He made up sales brochures for his "horseless carriage" in January 1891, however not a single person bought one. He decided after extensive work on this automobile that the idea of a "horseless carriage" was way off into the future and was discouraged to continue. His father and brother encouraged him to sell his businesses in Ohio City and move to Union City, Ohio
where they were and made stationary gasoline engines – which had an established market already. There in 1892 he started the Buckeye Manufacturing Company
and the Lambert Gas and Gasoline Engine Company
to made stationary engines and farm machinery implements. Later in 1893 Lambert started the Union Automobile Company
in that city. Lambert moved to Anderson, Indiana
from Union City in 1893. He then moved some of his machinery from his Union City plant at that time. Lambert incorporated the Buckeye Manufacturing Company and Lambert Gas and Gasoline Engine Company that year.
in 1880. It shows he was twenty years old and the first born in the family. His sibling
s were Emma M. Lambert (17), Harry C. Lambert (14), Mary I. Lambert (12), Frank W. Lambert (10), Samuel W. Lambert (8), and Levi C. Lambert (6). Many of his brothers as well as his parents would later form various companies with Lambert, with the original company usually named a Lambert Company and later changed to another company name.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
automotive pioneer, inventor, and automobile manufacturer.
Biography
Lambert was born on January 29, 1860, in Champaign County, OhioChampaign County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 38,890 people, 14,952 households, and 10,870 families residing in the county. The population density was 91 people per square mile . There were 15,890 housing units at an average density of 37 per square mile...
on a farm near Mechanicsburg, Ohio
Mechanicsburg, Ohio
Mechanicsburg is a village in Champaign County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,744 at the 2000 census.Mechanicsburg laid out in 1814 on the site of the Shawnee Indian Village of Chief Ohito...
. He lived there until he was fifteen. His early boyhood education was in the local public schools of the county. When Lambert was sixteen he moved with his parents to Van Wert County, Ohio for a year. At this time he was interested in gasoline engines.
One day his father had promised to take him to a tannery the next day to see an engine that could run without a steam boiler. This tannery was located in Greenville, Ohio
Greenville, Ohio
Greenville is a city in Darke County, Ohio, United States. The population was 13,227 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Darke County.-History:Greenville is the historic location of Fort Greene Ville,Greenville is a city in Darke County, Ohio, United States. The population was 13,227 at...
that his father had previously seen. When they arrived at the tannery the next morning, Lambert was disappointed to find that the building had burned to the ground the night before. He searched amongst the ashes and found the burned Otto gas engine. This was the only one he had ever heard of or seen. He took it apart to see how it was constructed. It was a slide valve coal gas engine.
After Lambert was married he moved to Ohio City, Ohio
Ohio City, Ohio
Ohio City is a village in Van Wert County, Ohio, United States with a population of 784 as of the 2000 census. It is included within the Van Wert, Ohio Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Ohio City is located at ....
, previously known as Enterprise, in Van Wert County, Ohio. There he formed J. W. Lambert and Company with his father as his partner. There he had an agricultural implement store, a grain elevator, and a lumber yard. They manufactured fork handles and spokes for wagons. Lambert also owned the town's opera house, town hall, jail and other town properties. Lambert always kept in the back of his mind the gas engine he saw in 1876. One day in the 1880s he heard of Karl Benz
Karl Benz
Karl Friedrich Benz, was a German engine designer and car engineer, generally regarded as the inventor of the gasoline-powered car, and together with Bertha Benz pioneering founder of the automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz...
building an automobile in Germany and it rekindled his imagine to build a gasoline engine that would operate a "horseless carriage."
Stationary gasoline engines were extremely heavy in those days and too much for a "horseless carriage." He studied Benz's engine to the best of ability. It so happened that a John B. Hicks had made a patent application in 1890 on a stationary gasoline engine. Lambert contacted Hicks and through Hicks was introduced to a Mr. Wacholtz, a German engineer who had worked with Hicks. On December 20, 1890 Wacholtz made a contract with Lambert to make a light weight automobile engine. The license granted to Lambert a shop right or license to manufacture gas engines embodying the improvements invented by the said Hicks as above stated for the use only on land vehicles other than railway or tramway cars.
Benz's automobile was belt driven from an engine. Lambert felt if he could make a light weight gasoline engine that did not operate with belts to propel it he would have a valuable transportation vehicle that could be utilized in the United States. Lambert hired Wacholtz to work with him on building a balanced motor containing three cylinders. He agreed to pay for all the expenses of the development of such an engine. The machine was done by Lowell Machine Works of Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. One of the reasons the engine was fabricated in Cleveland was because they had gasoline available there. He also had the design and the body of "horseless carriage" done there. Also the running gears for the automobile were fabricated there. Lambert went to extremes to have the engine made light-weight. This was the first experience Lambert had with building an automobile engine. He originally agreed to spend $200 for the machine work to produce the automobile engine, however after spending $3,300 Wacholtz was not able to produce a working engine in Cleveland.
Lambert stopped the work at this stage of fabrication and shipped the non-working engine and incomplete automobile to a small machine shop that he owned in Ohio City. This way he could then devote his personal attention to the engine and automobile when he could from his businesses he was running there. The automobile consisted of two clutches and two chains, which were connected to a jack shaft. The two clutches gave two speeds forward and there was no reverse speed used. The single front wheel of the tricycle designed automobile was steered by a foot lever and a hand lever. This direct steering method provided that the arms could be rested and the steering done by the feet, and vice versa. One item that needed to be solved for completion and a working engine was a means of carburation
Carburetor
A carburetor , carburettor, or carburetter is a device that blends air and fuel for an internal combustion engine. It is sometimes shortened to carb in North America and the United Kingdom....
. Lambert heard of a means of vaporizing gasoline by Gottlieb Daimler
Gottlieb Daimler
Gottlieb Daimler was an engineer, industrial designer and industrialist born in Schorndorf , in what is now Germany. He was a pioneer of internal-combustion engines and automobile development...
of Germany. He went to New York to see the engine that was operating a boat. After seeing this complicated carburetor Lambert developed what he called the "vaporizer." This was a simpler carburetor than Daimler's, which he was then able to get the engine working the way he intended it to. The automobile was completed soon after he had it Ohio City.
There was a great deal of secrecy surrounding the developments of Lambert's automobile. Operational tests were conducted with the window blinds pulled at the farm implement showroom where he ran it. Outside road tests were conducted at night on roads that were not used. That was a good thing since many times there were long intervals between being able to get the automobile started again after it stopped. It turned out that the villagers didn't even know what Lambert was working on since it was such a new concept. They didn't realize the significance of Lambert's horseless carriage. Lambert is said to have had the first automobile accident. One time when he was testing his "horseless carriage" at night in a secret run he drove his vehicle into a tree stump and ran into a hitching post.
He made up sales brochures for his "horseless carriage" in January 1891, however not a single person bought one. He decided after extensive work on this automobile that the idea of a "horseless carriage" was way off into the future and was discouraged to continue. His father and brother encouraged him to sell his businesses in Ohio City and move to Union City, Ohio
Union City, Ohio
Union City is a village in Darke County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,767 at the 2000 census.-History:Union City was platted in 1838 and incorporated on December 6, 1853...
where they were and made stationary gasoline engines – which had an established market already. There in 1892 he started the Buckeye Manufacturing Company
Buckeye Manufacturing Company
The Buckeye Manufacturing Company was a company originally formed to manufacture horse and buggy parts. It was started in the later part of the nineteenth century and by the early part of the twentieth century was making parts and materials for the Buckeye gasoline buggy automobile as well as for...
and the Lambert Gas and Gasoline Engine Company
Lambert Gas and Gasoline Engine Company
The Lambert Gas and Gasoline Engine Company was a company founded by John William Lambert in the later part of the nineteenth century as part of the conglomerate of the Buckeye Manufacturing Company.-History:...
to made stationary engines and farm machinery implements. Later in 1893 Lambert started the Union Automobile Company
Union Automobile Company
The Union Automobile Company began to make automobiles in Union City, Indiana in 1902. It built the Union automobile from 1902 through 1905. The company was located in Union City, Indiana from 1902 to 1905...
in that city. Lambert moved to Anderson, Indiana
Anderson, Indiana
Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Indiana, United States. It is the principal city of the Anderson, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses Madison county. Anderson is the headquarters of the Church of God and home of Anderson University, which is...
from Union City in 1893. He then moved some of his machinery from his Union City plant at that time. Lambert incorporated the Buckeye Manufacturing Company and Lambert Gas and Gasoline Engine Company that year.
Family
The United States census shows Lambert was living in Jackson Township, Darke County, OhioJackson Township, Darke County, Ohio
Jackson Township is one of the twenty townships of Darke County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 3,057 people in the township, 1,290 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
in 1880. It shows he was twenty years old and the first born in the family. His sibling
Sibling
Siblings are people who share at least one parent. A male sibling is called a brother; and a female sibling is called a sister. In most societies throughout the world, siblings usually grow up together and spend a good deal of their childhood socializing with one another...
s were Emma M. Lambert (17), Harry C. Lambert (14), Mary I. Lambert (12), Frank W. Lambert (10), Samuel W. Lambert (8), and Levi C. Lambert (6). Many of his brothers as well as his parents would later form various companies with Lambert, with the original company usually named a Lambert Company and later changed to another company name.
Innovations
- Held about 600 patents in his career.
- Patented a friction transmission which was a gearless transmission.
- Patented his first gasoline engine in 1887, the first in the United States.
- Lambert built America's first successful automobile in 1891 according to Antique Automobile and the Encyclopædia Britannica.
- Registered his first patent in 1876 when he was sixteen. This was on a corn-planter that sowed 3 grains at once, hailed by farmers as the marvel of the day.
See also
- Union automobileUnion (automobile)The Union automobile was based on Lambert's "horseless carriage" gasoline buggy. It had four wheels instead of his 1891 three-wheeled version. The automobile was made by the Union Automobile Company from 1902 through 1905...
- Lambert automobileLambert (automobile)The Lambert automobile and Lambert truck were built by the Lambert Automobile Company as an American vehicle from 1905 through 1916.The Lambert automobile motor in the early part of manufacturing moved around on the chassis. It was on the back of the chassis, then in the center, then to the front,...
- Buckeye gasoline buggyBuckeye gasoline buggyThe Buckeye gasoline buggy or Lambert gasoline buggy was the first practical gasoline automobile available for sale in America, according to automobile historians.-History:...
- Union Automobile CompanyUnion Automobile CompanyThe Union Automobile Company began to make automobiles in Union City, Indiana in 1902. It built the Union automobile from 1902 through 1905. The company was located in Union City, Indiana from 1902 to 1905...
- Lambert Automobile CompanyLambert Automobile CompanyThe Lambert Automobile Company was a automobile factory in Anderson, Indiana to make the Lambert automobile through the Buckeye Manufacturing Company.-History:...
- Buckeye Manufacturing CompanyBuckeye Manufacturing CompanyThe Buckeye Manufacturing Company was a company originally formed to manufacture horse and buggy parts. It was started in the later part of the nineteenth century and by the early part of the twentieth century was making parts and materials for the Buckeye gasoline buggy automobile as well as for...
- Lambert friction gearing disk drive transmissionLambert friction gearing disk drive transmissionThe Lambert friction gearing disk drive transmission was invented by John William Lambert originally in 1904. The invention relates to a friction disk drive transmission for automobiles that is gearless. He saw the need for a simple transmission of engine power to an automobile's drive...
- Lambert-Parent HouseLambert-Parent HouseThe Lambert-Parent House is a historic house in the village of Union City, Ohio, United States. Built in 1881, it was initially the home of George Lambert, who founded multiple major businesses in Union City and participated in the automobile manufacturing firm founded by his brother John...
Primary sources
- Biography of John W. Lambert , written by his son January 25, 1935 — obtained from the Detroit Public Library, National Automotive History Collection
- Brandon, Rodney H., Who is Who in Anderson, published privately in 1906
- Dolnar, Hugh, Automobile Trade Journal, article: The Lambert, 1906 Line of Automobiles, Chilton Company, v.10 January 1906
- Forkner, John L., History of Madison County, Indiana, New York and Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Company, 1914
- The Horseless Age: The Automobile Trade Magazine, The Horseless Age Company, 1902
Secondary sources
- Bailey, L. Scott, Historic Discovery: 1891 Lambert, New Claim for America's First Car, Antique Automobile magazine, Vol. 24, No. 5, Oct–Nov 1960
- David Burgess Wise, The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Automobiles ISBN 0-7858-1106-0
- Dittlinger, Esther et al., Anderson: A Pictorial History, G. Bradley Publishing, 1990, ISBN 0943963168
- Encyclopædia Britannica, Vol. 2, Chicago, Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 1968
- Georgano, G. N., The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile, Taylor & Francis, 2000, ISBN 1-5795829-3-1
- Huffman, Wallace Spencer, Indiana's Place in Automobile History in Indiana History Bulletin, vol 44, no. 2, Feb. 1967; Indianapolis, Indiana Historical Bureau
- Huhti, Thomas, The Great Indiana Touring Book: 20 Spectacular Auto Tours, Big Earth Publishing, 2002, ISBN 1-9315990-9-2
- James, Wanda, Driving from Japan, McFarland, 2005, ISBN 0-786417-3-4X
- Kimes, Beverly Rae, Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805-1942, Krause Publications, 1996, ISBN 0-8734142-8-4
- Madden, W. C., Haynes-Apperson and America's First Practical Automobile: A History, McFarland, 2003, ISBN 0-7864139-7-2
- Scharchburg, Richard P., Carriages Without Horses: J. Frank Duryea and the Birth of the American Automobile Industry, SAE, 1993, ISBN 1-5609138-0-0