Charles, Count de Lambert (30 December 1865, in

Funchal Funchal () is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's Autonomous Region of Madeira, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a population of 105,795, making it the sixth largest city in Portugal. Because of its hig ...

– 26 February 1944, in Saint-Sylvain-d'Anjou) was an early European aviator. In 1904 Count Lambert built an experimental

hydrofoil A hydrofoil is a lifting surface, or foil, that operates in water. They are similar in appearance and purpose to aerofoils used by aeroplanes. Boats that use hydrofoil technology are also simply termed hydrofoils. As a hydrofoil craft gains s ...

boat which was first tested in May 1904 on the River

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near

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. It had twin hulls and was powered by a 14HP

De Dion-Bouton De Dion-Bouton was a French automobile manufacturer and railcar manufacturer operating from 1883 to 1953. The company was founded by the Marquis Jules-Albert de Dion, Georges Bouton, and Bouton's brother-in-law Charles Trépardoux. Steam cars T ...

motor. Even with this modest power it was able to rise up on the hydrofoils until the hull just skimmed the water with only the propeller below the surface reaching a speed of 20 mph. De Lambert was the first person in France to be taught to fly by Wilbur Wright. The first lesson took place at

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...

on 28 October 1908, and by August 1909 he owned 2 Wright biplanes.Count Lambert's Idiosyncracy, Westminster Gazette, 26 Aug 1909, p5 On 18 October 1909 de Lambert "left the Juvisy Aerodrome at 4:36 o'clock in a Wright machine, flew across Paris to the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed ...

, circled it, and returned to his starting point, arriving safely at 5:25." De Lambert claimed that he flew 300 feet above the 1,000 foot Eiffel Tower, which was nearly equal to Orville Wright's height record set in Berlin. Lambert, along with

Hubert Latham Arthur Charles Hubert Latham (10 January 1883 – 25 June 1912) was a French aviation pioneer. He was the first person to attempt to cross the English Channel in an aeroplane. Due to engine failure during his first of two attempts to cross ...

and

Louis Blériot Louis Charles Joseph Blériot ( , also , ; 1 July 1872 – 1 August 1936) was a French aviator, inventor, and engineer. He developed the first practical headlamp for cars and established a profitable business manufacturing them, using much of th ...

, was one of the three main contenders for the £1,000 prize offered by the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

'' for a successful crossing of the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...

in an aeroplane, although he was not motivated by the monetary value. He took his pair of Wright ''Flyers (Nos. 2 and 18) and set up camp at

Wissant Wissant (; from nl, Witzand, lang, “white sand”) is a seaside commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Wissant is a fishing port and farming village located approximately north of Boulogn ...

to practice and wait for good weather. Latham made the first real attempt, but foundered and landed on the water, and Lambert damaged his 'Flyers' while practising. The prize was won by Louis Blériot on 25 July 1909.

Personal life

Count de Lambert was married first to Louise with whom he had a daughter, Jane de Lambert. After they divorced Louise married the Marquis de Ivanrey, Ricardo Soriano ( Ricardo Soriano von Hermansdorff Sholtz) and then the aviation engineer

Léon Lemartin Théodore Clovis Edmond Lemartin, known as Léon Lemartin (20 October 1883 Dunes, Tarn-et-Garonne – 18 June 1911, Vincennes) was a pioneer aviator who set a world record on 3 February 1911 at Pau, France when he carried seven passengers in a ...

who raised Jane as his own daughter. After Louise's death in December 1907 and his own death in an air-crash in 1911, Jane de Lambert was eventually parented by Lemartin's second wife Madeline and her second husband, his brother Albert Lemartin.Patrimoine - Grandes figures of gadzarts - Profiles of alumni - Leon Lemartin
/ref> Count de Lambert's second wife was Cordelia de Lambert.

References and notes

External links

Website on the life of Count de Lambert
(Wayback Machine) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert, Charles De 1865 births People from Funchal 1944 deaths French aviators