Charles Joseph Lambert, also known as Lambert Bey (

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...

, May 2, 1804 -

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, February 13, 1864) was a French explorer and engineer. Buste de Charles Joseph Lambert dit Lambert Bey

Biography

Lambert was a student of the

École polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...

(1822) and graduated as a

mining engineer Mining engineering is the extraction of minerals from the ground. It is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, metallurgy, geotechnical engineering and surveying. A mining engineer m ...

(1824). Around the year 1829, Lambert met "father"

Barthélemy Prosper Enfantin Barthélemy, or Barthélémy is a French name, a cognate of Bartholomew. Notable people with this name include: Given name * Barthélemy (explorer), French youth who accompanied the explorer de La Salle in 1687 * Barthélémy Bisengimana, Con ...

Michel Chevalier Michel Chevalier (; 13 January 1806 – 18 November 1879) was a French engineer, statesman, economist and free market liberal. Biography Born in Limoges, Haute-Vienne, Chevalier studied at the ''École Polytechnique'', obtaining an engineering ...

, and Fournel who were trying to propagate the doctrine of

Saint-Simonism Claude Henri de Rouvroy, Comte de Saint-Simon (; ; 17 October 1760 – 19 May 1825), better known as Henri de Saint-Simon (), was a French political, economic and socialist theorist and businessman whose thought had a substantial influence on po ...

. The young engineer became one of their favorite disciples, and abandoned his position to participate in the new religion. Lambert took an active part in the teachings of rue Monsigny, collaborating with the newspaper

Le Globe ''Le Globe'' was a French newspaper, published in Paris by the Bureau du Globe between 1824 and 1832, and created with the goal of publishing Romantic creations. It was established by Pierre Leroux and the printer Alexandre Lachevardière. Aft ...

and during the split that occurred in the Saint-Simonian family, he chose to side with Enfantin. In 1832, Lambert was not included in the lawsuits against the Saint-Simonians. From his refuge at

Ménilmontant Ménilmontant () is a neighbourhood of Paris, situated in the city's 20th arrondissement. It is roughly defined as the area north of the Père Lachaise Cemetery, south of Parc de Belleville, and between ''Avenue Jean-Aicard'' on the west an ...

, he appeared as trial counsel for one of the accused and produced an incisive and mocking speech which elicited a number of observations from the presiding judge. Sometime afterward (1833), Lambert left for

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, and at first taught mathematics in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

but soon caught the attention of the Egyptian vice-roy,

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

, who gave Lambert several missions: Lambert created the ( l'École des mines) Mining School which he directed from 1836 to 1840, and then the

Bulaq Boulaq ( from "guard, customs post"), is a district of Cairo, in Egypt. It neighbours Downtown Cairo, Azbakeya, and the River Nile. History The westward shift of the Nile, especially between 1050 and 1350, made land available on its eastern si ...

École polytechnique that he directed from 1840 to 1849. Lambert made it the flagship of the educational system organized by Muhammad Ali. Through the network of professors he built up from Egyptians sent to Paris, he was able to train excellent engineers who were considered "civilized" in the term of the day - that is to say, believing in the efficiency of technical progress as a factor of economic development and social progress. A member of the Higher Council for Education, Lambert participated in the development of all reforms of the school system in close liaison with Minister Ethem Bey. Lambert also provided technical expertise for many projects. The record he created in 1849 of the work he conducted and to which he lent assistance during the reign of Muhammad Ali is eloquent: the

Nile Barrage The Delta Barrage is barrage-type dam that was constructed intermittently beginning in 1833 to its initial completion in 1862. Its purpose was to improve irrigation and navigation along the main Rosetta and Damietta branches of the Nile downstr ...

, railroads, irrigation, mines, topography and maps, public works, school programs and inspections, an observatory, gunpowder and saltpeter, paper factories, roads, bridges, causeways, and waster distribution in Cairo.

The Suez Canal

During his time in Egypt, Lambert attentively studied the work of French engineer,

Jacques-Marie Le Père Jacques-Marie Le Père (Paris, 25 April 1763 – Granville, 15 June 1841) was a French civil engineer. Life He accompanied the French Campaign in Egypt and Syria, was director of 'Ponts et Chaussées' (bridges and roads) in Egypt. After accompan ...

, who at the end of the 18th century proposed a canal to traverse the Suez Isthmus. Lambert initiated a feasibility study and 3 drilling projects for the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

and he drew the public's attention to this project. These results of these three projects were sent to

Louis Maurice Adolphe Linant de Bellefonds Louis Maurice Adolphe Linant de Bellefonds better known as Linant Pasha (Lorient, France, 23 November 1799 – Cairo 9 July 1883) was an explorer of Egypt and, as the chief engineer of Egypt's public works, 1831–1869, an influential engineer of ...

by Enfantin. Linant worked together with

Eugène Mougel Dieudonné Eugène Mougel aka Eugène Mougel Bey (27 November 1808 in Châtel-sur-Moselle – 27 November 1890 in Paris) was a French engineer graduated from the École Polytechnique and later working for the Egyptian administration. Biography He ...

on the project that was later realized by

Ferdinand de Lesseps Ferdinand Marie, Comte de Lesseps (; 19 November 1805 – 7 December 1894) was a French Orientalist diplomat and owner of Main Idea of the Suez Canal, which in 1869 joined the Mediterranean and Red Seas, substantially reducing sailing distan ...

. Lambert's services in Egypt were rewarded with the title of

Bey Bey, also spelled as Baig, Bayg, Beigh, Beig, Bek, Baeg, Begh, or Beg, is a Turkic title for a chieftain, and a royal, aristocratic title traditionally applied to people with special lineages to the leaders or rulers of variously sized areas in ...

in 1847.

Later life

In 1851, Lambert settled in Paris and devoted his leisure to questions of philosophy: he published a very curious study about the

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

which was a great success when it appeared in ''La Revue philosophique et religieuse''. Lambert died in 1864 and was buried at the

Montparnasse Cemetery Montparnasse Cemetery () is a cemetery in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris, in the city's 14th arrondissement of Paris, 14th arrondissement. The cemetery is roughly 47 acres and is the second largest cemetery in Paris. The cemetery has over 35,00 ...

Awards

* Knight of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

, June 9, 1843

Bibliography

* Alfred Mézières, ''Lettres, sciences, arts: Encyclopédie universelle du XXe'', 1908, p. 56 * Numa Broc, ''Dictionnaire des Explorateurs français du XIXe siècle'', T.1, Afrique, CTHS, 1988, pp. 185–186 * François Angelier, ''Dictionnaire des Voyageurs et Explorateurs occidentaux'', Pygmalion, 2011, p. 414

References

External links

Photographs

Notice in the ''Maitron''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert, Charles 19th-century French explorers 19th-century French engineers 1804 births People from Valenciennes 1864 deaths École Polytechnique Mining engineers Saint-Simonists Recipients of the Legion of Honour Suez Canal