Isaac Cowley Lambert (1850 – 16 October 1918) was a British solicitor and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

. Lambert was also a sportsman of note, and captained the Cambridge University rugby team in the very first

Varsity Match A varsity match is a fixture (especially of a sporting event or team) between two university teams, particularly Oxford and Cambridge. The Scottish Varsity rugby match between the University of St Andrews and the University of Edinburgh at Murray ...

Early life

Lambert was born in 1850 in

Stockwell Stockwell is a district in south west London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. It is situated south of Charing Cross. Battersea, Brixton, Clapham, South Lambeth, Oval and Kennington all border Stockwell. History The na ...

, London; the fifth son of Thomas Lambert of

Surbiton Surbiton is a suburban neighbourhood in South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). It is next to the River Thames, southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the historic county of Surrey and since 1965 it has ...

. He was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...

before matriculating to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

in 1868. Lambert was a keen footballer while at Rugby and because of his old school ties was allowed to join the newly formed Cambridge University rugby team. When the first Varsity Game between Cambridge and

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Universities was arranged in 1872, the Cambridge captain was E. Winnington Ingram, but because of

Tripos At the University of Cambridge, a Tripos (, plural 'Triposes') is any of the examinations that qualify an undergraduate for a bachelor's degree or the courses taken by a student to prepare for these. For example, an undergraduate studying mathe ...

work, he was unavailable to travel to Oxford.Marshall (1951), pg 17. Lambert, who played at half back,Marshall (1951), pg 19. was elected in his place and lead his team onto the Parks playing field on 10 February 1872. Cambridge lost by a goal to nil, but reports state that Lambert 'played splendidly, saving Cambridge many times.Marshall (1951), pg 18. While still completing his studies, Lambert was admitted at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

in 1870, and was awarded his BA in 1873. On 26 January 1874, he was called to the Bar, and received his MA in 1876. Around this period, Lambert travelled to Asia, and published a short field guide, ''A Trip to Cashmere and Ladak'', which was published in 1877 by Henry S. King of London. He was also a Friend of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

and a Fellow of the

Zoological Society of London The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained the London Zoo, and since 1931 Whipsnade Park. History On 29 ...

Political career and later life

Before entering a political career, Lambert followed his legal education, becoming a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

in Surrey. His one and only election victory was in 1886, when he stood as a Conservative candidate for

Islington East Islington East was a United Kingdom constituencies, constituency which returned one Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United ...

. He retained the seat until the 1892 election. He died 16 October 1918 in

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

Bibliography

References

External links

* 1850 births 1918 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1886–1892 Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge People educated at Rugby School Fellows of the Zoological Society of London {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1850s-stub