John William Lambert
| John William Lambert | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
January 29, 1860 Mechanicsburg, Ohio |
| Died | May 20, 1952 (aged 92) Anderson, Indiana |
| Resting place | East Maplewood Cemetery |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Mechanical Engineer |
| Known for | America's First Successful Gasoline Automobile and the Father of the Gradual Transmission |
| Spouse(s) | Mary (Minnie) F. Kelley married 1885 |
| Children | Alvin Ray and Ethel Mae |
| Parent(s) | George Lambert Anna Lambert parents from Pennsylvania |
John William Lambert (January 29, 1860 – May 20, 1952) was an American automotive pioneer, inventor, automobile manufacturer, and the inventor of the first American gasoline automobile.
Lambert was born on January 29, 1860, in Champaign County, Ohio on a farm near Mechanicsburg, Ohio. As a teenager Lambert moved with his family to Hillgrove in Darke County, Ohio near Union City. At the age of 16 Lambert devised a clever handheld corn planter that the Lamberts sold nationwide. It revolutionized farming for a brief time, before larger machines were developed. This first successful product started the long career of John Lambert invented items his family manufactured and sold.
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.
In 1885 Lambert moved to Ohio City, Ohio, previously known as Enterprise, in Van Wert County. There he had an agricultural implement store, a grain elevator, and a lumber yard. 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 vision 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." 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 lightweight 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 lightweight 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 lightweight. 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.
...
Wikipedia