Daniel Lambert
Encyclopedia
Daniel Lambert was a gaol
keeper and animal breeder
from Leicester
, England, famous for his unusually large size. After serving four years as an apprentice at an engraving
and die casting
works in Birmingham
, he returned to Leicester around 1788 and succeeded his father as keeper of Leicester's gaol. He was a keen sportsman and extremely strong, on one occasion fighting a bear in the streets of Leicester. He was an expert in sporting animals, widely respected for his expertise with dogs, horses and fighting cocks
.
At the time of Lambert's return to Leicester, his weight began to increase steadily, even though he was athletically active and, by his own account, abstained from drinking alcohol and did not eat unusual amounts of food. In 1805, Lambert's gaol closed. By this time, he weighed 50 stone (700 lb; 318 kg), and had become the heaviest authenticated person up to that point in recorded history. Unemployable and sensitive about his bulk, Lambert became a recluse.
In 1806, poverty forced Lambert to put himself on exhibition to raise money. In , he took up residence in London, charging spectators to enter his apartments to meet him. Visitors were impressed by his intelligence and personality, and visiting him became highly fashionable. After some months on public display, Lambert grew tired of exhibiting himself, and in , he returned, wealthy, to Leicester, where he bred sporting dogs and regularly attended sporting events. Between 1806 and 1809, he made a further series of short fundraising tours.
In June 1809, he died suddenly in Stamford
. At the time of his death, he weighed 52 stone 11 lb (739 lb; 335 kg), and his coffin required 112 square feet (10.4 m2) of wood. Despite the coffin being built with wheels to allow easy transport, and a sloping approach being dug to the grave, it took 20 men almost half an hour to drag his casket into the trench, in a newly opened burial ground
to the rear of St Martin's Church
. While others have since overtaken Daniel Lambert's record as the heaviest person in history, he remains a popular character in Leicester, and in 2009 was described by the Leicester Mercury
as "one of the city's most cherished icons".
, on 13 March 1770. His father, also named Daniel Lambert, had been the huntsman
to Harry Grey, 4th Earl of Stamford
, and at the time of his son's birth was the keeper of Leicester's gaol. The eldest of four children, Daniel Lambert had two sisters, and a brother who died young.
At the age of eight he was a keen swimmer, and for much of his life he taught local children to swim. Lambert's paternal uncle—like his father—also worked with animals, but as a professional gamekeeper
; his maternal grandfather was a breeder of champion fighting cocks. Lambert grew up with a strong interest in field sports, and was particularly fond of otter
hunting, fishing
, shooting
and horse racing
. From his early teens, Lambert was a keen sportsman and by his late teens he was considered an expert in the breeding of hunting dog
s.
In 1784, he was apprenticed to Messrs Taylor & Co, an engraving and die casting
works in Birmingham
owned by a Mr Benjamin Patrick. The engraved buckles and buttons in which Patrick's factory specialised became unfashionable, however, and the business went into decline. In 1788, Lambert returned to Leicester, to serve as his father's assistant at the gaol (some sources date Lambert's return to Leicester to 1791, following the destruction of the building housing Messrs Taylor & Co in the Priestley Riots
of ). His father retired soon afterwards and Lambert succeeded him as gaol keeper. The younger Daniel Lambert was a much-respected gaoler; he befriended many of the prisoners, and made every effort to help them when they went to trial.
on display in Blue Boar Lane, his dog slipped loose and bit it. The bear knocked the dog to the ground, and Lambert asked its keeper to restrain it so he could retrieve his wounded animal; however, the keeper removed the bear's muzzle so it could attack the dog. Lambert reportedly struck the bear with a pole and with his left hand, punched its head, knocking it to the ground to allow the dog to escape.
Despite his increasingly large girth, Lambert remained fit and active, once walking seven miles (11 km) from Woolwich
to the City of London
"with much less apparent fatigue than several middle-sized men who were of the party". Although not particularly agile, he was not significantly restricted by his bulk, and was able to stand on one leg and kick the other to a height of 7 feet (2.1 m). He continued to teach swimming in Leicester, and was able to stay afloat with two grown men sitting on his back. He disliked changing his clothes, and each morning habitually wore the clothes he had worn the day before, regardless of whether they were still wet; by Lambert's own account he suffered no colds or other ill effects from this behaviour.
By 1801, Lambert's weight had increased to about 40 stone (560 lb; 250 kg), and, as his bulk meant neither he nor his horse were able to keep up with the hunt, he was forced to give up hunting. He continued to maintain an interest in field sports, keeping a pack of 30 terrier
s. By this time, although he retained his solid reputation as a gaoler, serious concerns were being raised about his fitness for the post. Traditional gaols were falling out of favour and being replaced with forced labour institutions, and in 1805, the old Bridewell gaol was closed. Lambert was left without a job, but was granted an annuity
of £50 (about £ as of ) a year by the Leicester magistrates, in recognition of his excellent service as gaol keeper.
". On another occasion, he admitted into his house a Nottingham
man who sought his advice about a mare's pedigree; on realising the man was only visiting to look at him, Lambert told him that the horse in question was "by Impertinence out of Curiosity".
Sensitive about his weight, Daniel Lambert refused to allow himself to be weighed, but sometime around 1805, some friends persuaded him to come with them to a cock fight in Loughborough
. Once he had squeezed his way into their carriage, the rest of the party drove the carriage onto a large weighing machine and jumped out. After deducting the weight of the (previously weighed) empty carriage, they calculated that Lambert's weight was now 50 stone (700 lb; 318 kg), and that he had thus overtaken Edward Bright
, the 616 pounds (279.4 kg) "Fat Man of Maldon", as the heaviest authenticated person in recorded history.
, then near the western edge of London. For five hours each day, he welcomed visitors into his home, charging each a shilling (about £ as of ).
Lambert shared his interests and knowledge of sports, dogs and animal husbandry with London's middle and upper classes, and it soon became highly fashionable to visit him, or become his friend. Many called repeatedly; one banker made 20 visits, paying the admission fee on each occasion. During this period of English history no real stigma was attached to obesity, and Lambert was generally considered a wonder to be marvelled at, rather than a freak to be gawped or sneered at. His business venture was immediately successful, drawing around 400 paying visitors per day. His home was described as having the air of a fashionable resort, rather than that of an exhibition, and he was pleased to find that his customers generally treated him with courtesy, and not simply as a spectacle. He insisted on maintaining amongst his visitors an atmosphere of civility and all men entering his rooms were obliged to remove their hats. One visitor refused to remove his "even if the King were present" but Lambert replied that "Then by G——, Sir, you must instantly quit this room, as I do not consider it a mark of respect due to myself, but to the ladies and gentlemen who honor me with their company."
Lambert's popularity inspired an imitator in "Master Wybrants, Mr. Lambert in miniature", exhibited a short distance away in Sackville Street. A handbill described Wybrants as "Master Wybrants the Modern Hercules, who at the age of 4 Months weighed 39 pounds, measured 2 feet round the Body 15 Inches round the thigh and 8 Inches round the Arm, to be seen at the corner of Sackville Street Piccadilly".
People would travel long distances to see him (on one occasion, a party of 14 travelled to London from Guernsey
), and many would spend hours speaking with him on animal breeding. A life-sized waxwork of Lambert was displayed in London, where it became extremely popular. Daniel Lambert soon became a popular subject with cartoonists, who often depicted him as John Bull
. He mixed well with the upper classes, and on one occasion met King George III
. The King's and Lambert's reactions to this meeting are not recorded.
Lambert soon came to the attention of the medical profession, and shortly after his arrival in London, the Medical and Physical Journal published an article about him. They confirmed that he weighed 50 stone (700 lb; 318 kg), and measured his height as 5 in 11 in (1.8 m). A thorough medical examination found that his bodily functions worked correctly, and that he breathed freely. Lambert was described as active and mentally alert, well-read, and with an excellent memory. He was fond of singing, and had a normal speaking voice which showed no signs of pressure on the lungs. Doctors found tumefaction of his feet, legs and thighs, and accumulation of fat within the abdomen, but other than scaly and thickened skin on his legs caused by previous attacks of erysipelas
, he had no health problems. Lambert told the doctors that he ate normal quantities of ordinary food. He claimed that since about 1795 he had drunk nothing but water, and that even while young, and a regular party-goer, he did not join his fellow revellers in drinking. Lambert estimated that he was able to walk about a quarter of a mile (400 m) without difficulty. He slept regularly for no more than eight hours per night, always with his window open, and was never heard to snore; on waking he was always fully alert within five minutes, and he never napped during the day.
of a patient with Cushing's syndrome
. Patients with Bardet–Biedl syndrome and Prader–Willi syndrome, genetic syndromes which can lead to obesity in patients, also suffer from learning disabilities
and muscular weakness, but all those who knew Lambert agreed that he was highly intelligent, extremely strong physically, and other than erysipelas and venous insufficiency (varicose veins
) in his legs he did not suffer from any health problems. One contemporary commentator remarked that "Mr. Lambert scarcely knows what it is to be ailing or indisposed". Lambert's only recorded psychological problem was an occasional "depression of the spirits", during his time in London. Although he had an aunt and uncle who were overweight, his parents and surviving siblings remained of normal build throughout their lives.
Consequently, it is likely that Lambert's weight gain was caused not by a physical disorder but by a combination of overeating and a lack of exercise. Although heavily built in his teens, he began to gain weight only when he took up the relatively sedentary job of prison keeper. A biography of Lambert published during his lifetime recounted that "it was within a year of this appointment that his bulk received the greatest and most rapid encrease". Although he claimed to eat little, and to abstain from alcohol, it is likely that a man with his lifestyle and position in society would have eaten large amounts of meat, and drunk beer at social events.
, Boruwłaski was generally considered to be the last of Europe's court dwarfs. He was introduced to the Empress Maria Theresa in 1754, and after a short time residing with deposed Polish king Stanisław Leszczyński, he exhibited himself around Europe, thus becoming a wealthy man. At age 60, he retired to Durham
, where he became such a popular figure that the City of Durham paid him to live there and he became one of its most prominent citizens. Boruwłaski had a superb memory, and recalled that Lambert, while still employed by Patrick's die casting works and before he grew fat, had paid to see him in Birmingham. Boruwłaski remarked "I have seen this face twenty years before at Birmingham, but certainly it be another body". He had been told that Lambert's bulk was a hoax, and he therefore felt his leg to prove to himself that it was not. The two men compared their respective outfits, and calculated that one of Lambert's sleeves would provide enough cloth to make an entire coat for Boruwłaski. Lambert enquired after Boruwłaski's wife, Isalina Barbutan, whereupon the latter replied "No, she is dead, and I am not very sorry, for when I affront her, she put me on the mantle-shelf for punishment."
The meeting of Lambert and Boruwłaski, the largest and smallest men in the country, was the subject of enormous public interest; one newspaper reported that "It was Sir John Falstaff and Tom Thumb
, which must have afforded a double treat to the curious". Boruwłaski lived to see his 98th year, despite the prediction of the money-lender who sold him his annuity that his small stature would make him prone to illness.
(about £ as of ), was said to be the finest in England. He refused to sell the dog, which became his lifetime companion. He began again to attend sporting events, as a report on the Leicester Races
of 19 September 1806 reported that "Among the distinguished characters upon the turf we were glad to see our old friend, Mr. Daniel Lambert, in apparent high health and spirits". Although too heavy to follow hunts on horseback, he used a portion of the money earned in London to build up a pack of greyhound
s, watching from his carriage as they coursed hares
in the Leicestershire countryside.
In December 1806, Lambert went on a brief fundraising tour, and exhibited himself in Birmingham and Coventry
. Early the next year he returned to London, and stayed in the fashionable Leicester Square
. There he fell ill; his physician Dr Heaviside felt that his illness may have been caused by the polluted London air, and Lambert returned to Leicester. He recovered, and later in 1807, made a series of tours of England.
In summer 1808, Lambert briefly returned to the capital, where he sold a pair of spaniel
s for 75 guineas (about £ as of ) at Tattersalls
. Later that year, he exhibited himself in York
. In , he set off on another tour of East Anglia
, to conclude in Stamford
during the Stamford Races. One account suggests that this tour was intended to be his last, as he was then sufficiently wealthy to retire. While on the tour, Lambert was weighed in Ipswich; his weight was 52 stone 11 lb (739 lb; 335 kg). No longer able to use stairs, he took lodgings on the ground floor of the Waggon & Horses inn at 47 Stamford High Street on 20 June.
, ordering advertisements and handbills. Stating that "as the Mountain could not wait upon Mahomet
, Mahomet would go to the mountain", he asked the printer to visit him at the Waggon & Horses, to discuss his printing requirements. That evening, Lambert was in bed and admitted to feeling tired, but nonetheless he was able to discuss his requirements with the printer, and was anxious that the handbills be delivered on time.
On the morning of 21 June, Lambert woke at his usual time and appeared in good health. As he began to shave, he complained of breathing difficulties. Ten minutes later, he collapsed and died.
There was no autopsy, and the cause of Lambert's death is unknown. While many sources say that he died of a fatty degeneration of the heart or of stress on his heart caused by his bulk, his behaviour in the period leading to his death does not match that of someone suffering from cardiac insufficiency; witnesses agree that on the morning of his death he appeared well, before he became short of breath and collapsed. Bondeson (2006) speculates that the most consistent explanation of his death, given his symptoms and medical history, is that he had a sudden pulmonary embolism
.
coffin, 6 feet 4 inches long, 4 feet 4 inches wide and 2 feet 4 inches deep (193 cm × 132 cm × 71 cm), built on wheels to allow it to be moved. The coffin was so large that to wheel it out of the inn and to the newly opened burial ground
at the rear of St Martin's Church
, the window and wall of his apartment were demolished. A suitably sized grave had been dug, with a sloping approach to avoid the need to lower the coffin from above, but on 23 June, it nonetheless took almost half an hour for twenty men to pull Lambert's enormous coffin into the grave.
Lambert's friends paid for a large gravestone, inscribed:
(1799–1857), but Lambert had by now become a cult figure, and virtually every item connected with him was preserved for posterity. His clothes and possessions were sold at auction to collectors, and many of them are preserved in museums today.
Across England, many public houses and inns were renamed after Daniel Lambert, particularly in Leicester and Stamford. The Daniel Lambert public house at 12 Ludgate Hill
, near the entrance to St Paul's Cathedral
in London, was well known, and had a large portrait of Daniel Lambert and Lambert's walking stick on display in the lobby. James Dixon, owner of the Ram Jam Inn in Stamford, bought the suit of clothes Lambert had been wearing when he died and put it on display, renaming the inn the Daniel Lambert.
The term "Daniel Lambert" entered common use in English speech and writing, to refer to any fat man. His name continued in this use long after the details of his life had been largely forgotten; in 1852, Charles Dickens
remarked that "Lambert's name is known better than his history". Dickens's Nicholas Nickleby compares the obese George IV
to Lambert, and William Makepeace Thackeray
used the term in Vanity Fair to refer to the obese Joseph Sedley, and in The Luck of Barry Lyndon
to refer to the fat servant Tim. As time progressed, "Daniel Lambert" came to mean anything exceptionally large; Herbert Spencer
's The Study of Sociology used the phrase "a Daniel Lambert of learning", while Thomas Carlyle
referred sarcastically to Oliver Cromwell
as "this big swollen Gambler and gluttonous hapless 'spiritual Daniel Lambert'". In 1874, The Times
, in reviewing the newly translated French comedy La Fiammina by Mario Uchard in which a character is named "Daniel Lambert", noted that the name is "always associated in the English mind with the notion of obesity", and in 1907, almost 100 years after Lambert's death, the Château de Chambord
was referred to as "the Daniel Lambert among châteaux". Nellie Lambert Ensall, at the time the heaviest woman in Britain, claimed in 1910 to be Daniel Lambert's great-granddaughter, but her claim is likely to be untrue; Lambert was unmarried and is unlikely to have had any children.
In 1838, the English Annual published a series of poems, purportedly written by Lambert and found amongst his papers at the Waggon and Horses after his death. No source published during Lambert's lifetime mentions his having any interest in poetry or in any reading matter other than periodicals on field sports, and it is unclear why his papers should have been with him in Stamford at his death, rather than at his home in Leicester. The discoverer of the poems is credited only as "Omega". It is possible that the poems are a hoax.
and the 25-inch (64 cm) tall General Tom Thumb
(Charles Sherwood Stratton) visited Stamford in 1846 and donated one of Thumb's costumes to Dixon to be displayed alongside Lambert's. General Tom Thumb visited Stamford again in 1859 and was tied up inside one of Lambert's stockings. In 1866, General Tom Thumb, with his equally short wife Lavinia Warren
(Mercy Lavinia Warren Bump), her sister Minnie Warren
(Huldah Pierce Warren Bump) and Barnum's other celebrated dwarf Commodore Nutt
(George Washington Morrison Nutt) visited Stamford. All four were able to pass through the knee of Lambert's breeches together. In 1866, Lambert's and Tom Thumb's clothes were sold to the Old London Tavern in Stamford; they are now on display at the Stamford Museum
. (In , it was announced that the Stamford Museum is to close in . The exhibits are to be transferred to Stamford Library.)
The 1806 waxwork of Lambert was exported to the United States and was on show in New Haven, Connecticut
, by 1813. By 1828, the effigy was displayed in the Boston Vauxhall Gardens
dressed in a complete set of Lambert's clothes. It was later bought by P.T. Barnum and displayed at Barnum's American Museum
in New York, but the museum was destroyed by fire in 1865 and, although workmen endeavoured to save the waxwork, it melted in the heat and was destroyed.
as "one of the city's most cherished icons"; several local public houses and businesses are named after him. Sue Townsend
's play The Ghost of Daniel Lambert, in which Lambert's ghost watches disapprovingly over the 1960s demolition and redevelopment of Leicester's historic town centre, premiered at Leicester's Haymarket Theatre
in 1981. Lambert is also a popular figure in Stamford, and local football team Stamford A.F.C. are nicknamed "The Daniels", after him.
A set of Lambert's clothes, together with his armchair, walking stick, riding crop and prayer book, are on permanent display at the Newarke Houses Museum
in Leicester. Stamford Museum
exhibited a tailor's dummy, dressed with Daniel Lambert's clothes as if they are being made up for him, plus his hat and a recently purchased portrait. There is also a display about General Tom Thumb, including the suit of Tom Thumb's clothes donated by Barnum to Dixon. The Daniel Lambert pub in Ludgate Hill no longer exists, and the memorabilia formerly displayed there are now on permanent display at the George Hotel
in Stamford. The Daniel Lambert pub in Stamford has also closed.
In 2009, on the 200th anniversary of his death, Leicester celebrated Daniel Lambert Day, and over 800 people attended an event in his name at Newarke Houses Museum.
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
keeper and animal breeder
Animal husbandry
Animal husbandry is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock.- History :Animal husbandry has been practiced for thousands of years, since the first domestication of animals....
from Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
, England, famous for his unusually large size. After serving four years as an apprentice at an engraving
Engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...
and die casting
Die casting
Die casting is a metal casting process that is characterized by forcing molten metal under high pressure into a mold cavity. The mold cavity is created using two hardened tool steel dies which have been machined into shape and work similarly to an injection mold during the process...
works in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, he returned to Leicester around 1788 and succeeded his father as keeper of Leicester's gaol. He was a keen sportsman and extremely strong, on one occasion fighting a bear in the streets of Leicester. He was an expert in sporting animals, widely respected for his expertise with dogs, horses and fighting cocks
Cockfight
A cockfight is a blood sport between two roosters , held in a ring called a cockpit. Cockfighting is now illegal throughout all states in the United States, Brazil, Australia and in most of Europe. It is still legal in several U.S. territories....
.
At the time of Lambert's return to Leicester, his weight began to increase steadily, even though he was athletically active and, by his own account, abstained from drinking alcohol and did not eat unusual amounts of food. In 1805, Lambert's gaol closed. By this time, he weighed 50 stone (700 lb; 318 kg), and had become the heaviest authenticated person up to that point in recorded history. Unemployable and sensitive about his bulk, Lambert became a recluse.
In 1806, poverty forced Lambert to put himself on exhibition to raise money. In , he took up residence in London, charging spectators to enter his apartments to meet him. Visitors were impressed by his intelligence and personality, and visiting him became highly fashionable. After some months on public display, Lambert grew tired of exhibiting himself, and in , he returned, wealthy, to Leicester, where he bred sporting dogs and regularly attended sporting events. Between 1806 and 1809, he made a further series of short fundraising tours.
In June 1809, he died suddenly in Stamford
Stamford, Lincolnshire
Stamford is a town and civil parish within the South Kesteven district of the county of Lincolnshire, England. It is approximately to the north of London, on the east side of the A1 road to York and Edinburgh and on the River Welland...
. At the time of his death, he weighed 52 stone 11 lb (739 lb; 335 kg), and his coffin required 112 square feet (10.4 m2) of wood. Despite the coffin being built with wheels to allow easy transport, and a sloping approach being dug to the grave, it took 20 men almost half an hour to drag his casket into the trench, in a newly opened burial ground
Burial Ground
Burial Ground is the ninth studio album by Swedish death metal band Grave, released in June 2010.-Track listing:# "Liberation" - 3:40# "Semblance In Black" - 7:50# "Dismembered Mind" - 6:10# "Ridden With Belief" - 7:57# "Conquerer" - 4:44...
to the rear of St Martin's Church
St Martin's Church, Stamford
St Martin's Church, Stamford is a parish church in the Church of England located in Stamford, Lincolnshire, England. The area of the town, south of the River Welland, was in Northamptonshire until 1889 and is called Stamford Baron or St Martin's.-History:...
. While others have since overtaken Daniel Lambert's record as the heaviest person in history, he remains a popular character in Leicester, and in 2009 was described by the Leicester Mercury
Leicester Mercury
The Leicester Mercury is a British regional newspaper, owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust, for the city of Leicester and the counties of Leicestershire and Rutland...
as "one of the city's most cherished icons".
Early life
Daniel Lambert was born at his parents' house in Blue Boar Lane, LeicesterLeicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
, on 13 March 1770. His father, also named Daniel Lambert, had been the huntsman
Fox hunting
Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase, and sometimes killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds, and a group of followers led by a master of foxhounds, who follow the hounds on foot or on horseback.Fox hunting originated in its current...
to Harry Grey, 4th Earl of Stamford
Harry Grey, 4th Earl of Stamford
Harry Grey, 4th Earl of Stamford was an English peer, styled Lord Grey from 1720 to 1739.Harry Grey was born in Enville Hall, the eldest son of Henry Grey, 3rd Earl of Stamford. He was educated at Rugby and Westminster. In 1736, he married Lady Mary Booth, the only daughter and heiress of George...
, and at the time of his son's birth was the keeper of Leicester's gaol. The eldest of four children, Daniel Lambert had two sisters, and a brother who died young.
At the age of eight he was a keen swimmer, and for much of his life he taught local children to swim. Lambert's paternal uncle—like his father—also worked with animals, but as a professional gamekeeper
Gamekeeper
A gamekeeper is a person who manages an area of countryside to make sure there is enough game for shooting, or fish for angling, and who actively manages areas of woodland, moorland, waterway or farmland for the benefit of game birds, deer, fish and wildlife in general.Typically, a gamekeeper is...
; his maternal grandfather was a breeder of champion fighting cocks. Lambert grew up with a strong interest in field sports, and was particularly fond of otter
Otter
The Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....
hunting, fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
, shooting
Shooting sports
A shooting sport is a competitive sport involving tests of proficiency using various types of guns such as firearms and airguns . Hunting is also a shooting sport, and indeed shooting live pigeons was an Olympic event...
and horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
. From his early teens, Lambert was a keen sportsman and by his late teens he was considered an expert in the breeding of hunting dog
Hunting dog
A hunting dog refers to any dog who assists humans in hunting. There are several types of hunting dogs developed for various tasks. The major categories of hunting dogs include hounds, terriers, dachshunds, cur type dogs, and gun dogs...
s.
In 1784, he was apprenticed to Messrs Taylor & Co, an engraving and die casting
Die casting
Die casting is a metal casting process that is characterized by forcing molten metal under high pressure into a mold cavity. The mold cavity is created using two hardened tool steel dies which have been machined into shape and work similarly to an injection mold during the process...
works in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
owned by a Mr Benjamin Patrick. The engraved buckles and buttons in which Patrick's factory specialised became unfashionable, however, and the business went into decline. In 1788, Lambert returned to Leicester, to serve as his father's assistant at the gaol (some sources date Lambert's return to Leicester to 1791, following the destruction of the building housing Messrs Taylor & Co in the Priestley Riots
Priestley Riots
The Priestley Riots took place from 14 July to 17 July 1791 in Birmingham, England; the rioters' main targets were religious Dissenters, most notably the politically and theologically controversial Joseph Priestley...
of ). His father retired soon afterwards and Lambert succeeded him as gaol keeper. The younger Daniel Lambert was a much-respected gaoler; he befriended many of the prisoners, and made every effort to help them when they went to trial.
Weight
Although by his own account Lambert did not eat unusually large amounts of food, at about the time of his return to Leicester his weight began to increase steadily, and by 1793, he weighed 32 stone (450 lb; 200 kg). Concerned for his fitness, in his spare time he devoted himself to exercise, building his strength to the point where he was able to easily carry five hundredweight (560 lb; 250 kg). On one occasion, while he was watching a dancing bearDancing Bear
Dancing Bear is a Croatian record label.Croatian artists that released their albums on the label include The Bambi Molesters, Daleka obala, Darko Rundek, Dino Dvornik, Gustafi, Hladno pivo, Ibrica Jusić, Dunja Knebl, Kojoti, Leteći odred and Majke....
on display in Blue Boar Lane, his dog slipped loose and bit it. The bear knocked the dog to the ground, and Lambert asked its keeper to restrain it so he could retrieve his wounded animal; however, the keeper removed the bear's muzzle so it could attack the dog. Lambert reportedly struck the bear with a pole and with his left hand, punched its head, knocking it to the ground to allow the dog to escape.
Despite his increasingly large girth, Lambert remained fit and active, once walking seven miles (11 km) from Woolwich
Woolwich
Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...
to the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
"with much less apparent fatigue than several middle-sized men who were of the party". Although not particularly agile, he was not significantly restricted by his bulk, and was able to stand on one leg and kick the other to a height of 7 feet (2.1 m). He continued to teach swimming in Leicester, and was able to stay afloat with two grown men sitting on his back. He disliked changing his clothes, and each morning habitually wore the clothes he had worn the day before, regardless of whether they were still wet; by Lambert's own account he suffered no colds or other ill effects from this behaviour.
By 1801, Lambert's weight had increased to about 40 stone (560 lb; 250 kg), and, as his bulk meant neither he nor his horse were able to keep up with the hunt, he was forced to give up hunting. He continued to maintain an interest in field sports, keeping a pack of 30 terrier
Terrier
A terrier is a dog of any one of many breeds or landraces of terrier type, which are typically small, wiry, very active and fearless dogs. Terrier breeds vary greatly in size from just a couple of pounds to over 70 pounds and are usually categorized by size or function...
s. By this time, although he retained his solid reputation as a gaoler, serious concerns were being raised about his fitness for the post. Traditional gaols were falling out of favour and being replaced with forced labour institutions, and in 1805, the old Bridewell gaol was closed. Lambert was left without a job, but was granted an annuity
Annuity (European financial arrangements)
An annuity can be defined as a financial contract which provides an income stream in return for an initial payment with specific parameters. It is the opposite of a settlement funding...
of £50 (about £ as of ) a year by the Leicester magistrates, in recognition of his excellent service as gaol keeper.
Unemployment
Lambert's girth was then enormous; six men of normal size could fit together inside his waistcoat, and each of his stockings was the size of a sack. His £50 annuity did not adequately cover his living costs, and his size prevented him from working. He became a virtual recluse. Stories of his bulk had by then begun to spread, and travellers visiting Leicester would use various pretexts to visit his home. One such visitor asked Lambert's servant to allow him entry as he wished to ask Lambert's advice about fighting cocks; Lambert leaned out of the window and told the servant to "tell the gentleman that I am a shy cockCock throwing
Cock throwing, also known as cock-shying or throwing at cocks, was a blood sport widely practised in England until the late 18th century. A rooster was tied to a post and people took turns throwing coksteles at the bird until it died...
". On another occasion, he admitted into his house a Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
man who sought his advice about a mare's pedigree; on realising the man was only visiting to look at him, Lambert told him that the horse in question was "by Impertinence out of Curiosity".
Sensitive about his weight, Daniel Lambert refused to allow himself to be weighed, but sometime around 1805, some friends persuaded him to come with them to a cock fight in Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
. Once he had squeezed his way into their carriage, the rest of the party drove the carriage onto a large weighing machine and jumped out. After deducting the weight of the (previously weighed) empty carriage, they calculated that Lambert's weight was now 50 stone (700 lb; 318 kg), and that he had thus overtaken Edward Bright
Edward Bright
Edward Bright was a grocer in Maldon, Essex, England — known as the "fat man of Maldon" — who was reputed at the time of his death in 1750 to be the "fattest man in England"...
, the 616 pounds (279.4 kg) "Fat Man of Maldon", as the heaviest authenticated person in recorded history.
London
Despite his shyness, Lambert badly needed to earn money, and saw no alternative to putting himself on display, and charging his spectators. On 4 April 1806, he boarded a specially built carriage and travelled from Leicester to his new home at 53 PiccadillyPiccadilly
Piccadilly is a major street in central London, running from Hyde Park Corner in the west to Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is completely within the city of Westminster. The street is part of the A4 road, London's second most important western artery. St...
, then near the western edge of London. For five hours each day, he welcomed visitors into his home, charging each a shilling (about £ as of ).
Lambert shared his interests and knowledge of sports, dogs and animal husbandry with London's middle and upper classes, and it soon became highly fashionable to visit him, or become his friend. Many called repeatedly; one banker made 20 visits, paying the admission fee on each occasion. During this period of English history no real stigma was attached to obesity, and Lambert was generally considered a wonder to be marvelled at, rather than a freak to be gawped or sneered at. His business venture was immediately successful, drawing around 400 paying visitors per day. His home was described as having the air of a fashionable resort, rather than that of an exhibition, and he was pleased to find that his customers generally treated him with courtesy, and not simply as a spectacle. He insisted on maintaining amongst his visitors an atmosphere of civility and all men entering his rooms were obliged to remove their hats. One visitor refused to remove his "even if the King were present" but Lambert replied that "Then by G——, Sir, you must instantly quit this room, as I do not consider it a mark of respect due to myself, but to the ladies and gentlemen who honor me with their company."
Lambert's popularity inspired an imitator in "Master Wybrants, Mr. Lambert in miniature", exhibited a short distance away in Sackville Street. A handbill described Wybrants as "Master Wybrants the Modern Hercules, who at the age of 4 Months weighed 39 pounds, measured 2 feet round the Body 15 Inches round the thigh and 8 Inches round the Arm, to be seen at the corner of Sackville Street Piccadilly".
People would travel long distances to see him (on one occasion, a party of 14 travelled to London from Guernsey
Guernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
), and many would spend hours speaking with him on animal breeding. A life-sized waxwork of Lambert was displayed in London, where it became extremely popular. Daniel Lambert soon became a popular subject with cartoonists, who often depicted him as John Bull
John Bull
John Bull is a national personification of Britain in general and England in particular, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged man, often wearing a Union Flag waistcoat.-Origin:...
. He mixed well with the upper classes, and on one occasion met King George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
. The King's and Lambert's reactions to this meeting are not recorded.
Medical examination
Erysipelas
Erysipelas is an acute streptococcus bacterial infection of the deep epidermis with lymphatic spread.-Risk factors:...
, he had no health problems. Lambert told the doctors that he ate normal quantities of ordinary food. He claimed that since about 1795 he had drunk nothing but water, and that even while young, and a regular party-goer, he did not join his fellow revellers in drinking. Lambert estimated that he was able to walk about a quarter of a mile (400 m) without difficulty. He slept regularly for no more than eight hours per night, always with his window open, and was never heard to snore; on waking he was always fully alert within five minutes, and he never napped during the day.
Possible causes
It is impossible to be certain about what caused Daniel Lambert's extreme weight, but it is considered unlikely to have been caused by an endocrine (glandular) or genetic disorder. Other than his weight gain, he showed no symptoms of a thyroid disorder, and none of his many portraits show the moon faceMoon face
Moon face, or moon facies, is a medical sign where the face swells up into a rounded shape.It is often associated with Cushing's syndrome or steroid treatment , which has led to it being known as Cushingoid facies or steroid facies respectively...
of a patient with Cushing's syndrome
Cushing's syndrome
Cushing's syndrome is a hormone disorder caused by high levels of cortisol in the blood. This can be caused by taking glucocorticoid drugs, or by tumors that produce cortisol or adrenocorticotropic hormone or CRH...
. Patients with Bardet–Biedl syndrome and Prader–Willi syndrome, genetic syndromes which can lead to obesity in patients, also suffer from learning disabilities
Learning disability
Learning disability is a classification including several disorders in which a person has difficulty learning in a typical manner, usually caused by an unknown factor or factors...
and muscular weakness, but all those who knew Lambert agreed that he was highly intelligent, extremely strong physically, and other than erysipelas and venous insufficiency (varicose veins
Varicose veins
Varicose veins are veins that have become enlarged and tortuous. The term commonly refers to the veins on the leg, although varicose veins can occur elsewhere. Veins have leaflet valves to prevent blood from flowing backwards . Leg muscles pump the veins to return blood to the heart, against the...
) in his legs he did not suffer from any health problems. One contemporary commentator remarked that "Mr. Lambert scarcely knows what it is to be ailing or indisposed". Lambert's only recorded psychological problem was an occasional "depression of the spirits", during his time in London. Although he had an aunt and uncle who were overweight, his parents and surviving siblings remained of normal build throughout their lives.
Consequently, it is likely that Lambert's weight gain was caused not by a physical disorder but by a combination of overeating and a lack of exercise. Although heavily built in his teens, he began to gain weight only when he took up the relatively sedentary job of prison keeper. A biography of Lambert published during his lifetime recounted that "it was within a year of this appointment that his bulk received the greatest and most rapid encrease". Although he claimed to eat little, and to abstain from alcohol, it is likely that a man with his lifestyle and position in society would have eaten large amounts of meat, and drunk beer at social events.
Józef Boruwłaski
After some months in London, Lambert was visited by Józef Boruwłaski, a 3-foot 3-inch (99 cm) dwarf then in his seventies. Born in 1739 to a poor family in rural PokuttyaPokuttya
Pokuttya or Pokuttia is a historical area of East-Central Europe, between upper Prut and Cheremosh rivers, in modern Ukraine. Historically it was a culturally distinct area inhabitated by Ukrainians and Romanians on the previously unpopulated borderlands between the lands of Lviv and Halych...
, Boruwłaski was generally considered to be the last of Europe's court dwarfs. He was introduced to the Empress Maria Theresa in 1754, and after a short time residing with deposed Polish king Stanisław Leszczyński, he exhibited himself around Europe, thus becoming a wealthy man. At age 60, he retired to Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
, where he became such a popular figure that the City of Durham paid him to live there and he became one of its most prominent citizens. Boruwłaski had a superb memory, and recalled that Lambert, while still employed by Patrick's die casting works and before he grew fat, had paid to see him in Birmingham. Boruwłaski remarked "I have seen this face twenty years before at Birmingham, but certainly it be another body". He had been told that Lambert's bulk was a hoax, and he therefore felt his leg to prove to himself that it was not. The two men compared their respective outfits, and calculated that one of Lambert's sleeves would provide enough cloth to make an entire coat for Boruwłaski. Lambert enquired after Boruwłaski's wife, Isalina Barbutan, whereupon the latter replied "No, she is dead, and I am not very sorry, for when I affront her, she put me on the mantle-shelf for punishment."
The meeting of Lambert and Boruwłaski, the largest and smallest men in the country, was the subject of enormous public interest; one newspaper reported that "It was Sir John Falstaff and Tom Thumb
Tom Thumb
Tom Thumb is a character of English folklore. The History of Tom Thumb was published in 1621, and has the distinction of being the first fairy tale printed in English. Tom is no bigger than his father's thumb, and his adventures include being swallowed by a cow, tangling with giants, and becoming a...
, which must have afforded a double treat to the curious". Boruwłaski lived to see his 98th year, despite the prediction of the money-lender who sold him his annuity that his small stature would make him prone to illness.
Disillusionment
Although generally respected by London society, the longer Lambert remained there, the more irritable he became. Shy and self-conscious, he was annoyed at repeatedly being asked about the size of his clothes. In answer to one request, to a woman who enquired as to the cost of his coat, he replied "I cannot pretend to charge my memory with the price, but I can put you into a method of obtaining the information you want. If you think proper to make me a present of a new coat, you will then know exactly what it costs". Another interested spectator claimed that since his entrance fee was paying for Lambert's clothing, he had the right to know about it; Lambert replied "Sir, if I knew what part of my next coat your shilling would pay for, I can assure you I would cut out the piece". Lambert calculated in 1806 that a full suit of clothes cost him £20, about £ as of .Return to Leicester
Lambert had the acumen to refuse the management offers of various impresarios and agents, and by , he had returned to Leicester as a wealthy man. He returned to his favourite pastimes, breeding sporting dogs and fighting cocks. A terrier bitch, for which he was offered 100 guineasGuinea (British coin)
The guinea is a coin that was minted in the Kingdom of England and later in the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom between 1663 and 1813...
(about £ as of ), was said to be the finest in England. He refused to sell the dog, which became his lifetime companion. He began again to attend sporting events, as a report on the Leicester Races
Leicester Racecourse
Leicester Racecourse is a horse-racing course in Oadby, Leicestershire, England.The course is oval shaped and nearly 2 miles in extent. It was opened ante 1773....
of 19 September 1806 reported that "Among the distinguished characters upon the turf we were glad to see our old friend, Mr. Daniel Lambert, in apparent high health and spirits". Although too heavy to follow hunts on horseback, he used a portion of the money earned in London to build up a pack of greyhound
Greyhound
The Greyhound is a breed of sighthound that has been primarily bred for coursing game and racing, and the breed has also recently seen a resurgence in its popularity as a pedigree show dog and family pet. It is a gentle and intelligent breed...
s, watching from his carriage as they coursed hares
Hare coursing
Hare coursing is the pursuit of hares with greyhounds and other sighthounds, which chase the hare by sight and not by scent. It is a competitive sport, in which dogs are tested on their ability to run, overtake and turn a hare, rather than a form of hunting aiming at the capture of game. It has a...
in the Leicestershire countryside.
In December 1806, Lambert went on a brief fundraising tour, and exhibited himself in Birmingham and Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
. Early the next year he returned to London, and stayed in the fashionable Leicester Square
Leicester Square
Leicester Square is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. The Square lies within an area bound by Lisle Street, to the north; Charing Cross Road, to the east; Orange Street, to the south; and Whitcomb Street, to the west...
. There he fell ill; his physician Dr Heaviside felt that his illness may have been caused by the polluted London air, and Lambert returned to Leicester. He recovered, and later in 1807, made a series of tours of England.
In summer 1808, Lambert briefly returned to the capital, where he sold a pair of spaniel
Spaniel
A spaniel is a type of gun dog. It is assumed spaniels originated from Spain as the word spaniel may be derived from Hispania or possibly from the French phrase "Chiens de l’Espagnol" . Spaniels were especially bred to flush game out of dense brush. By the late 17th century spaniels had become...
s for 75 guineas (about £ as of ) at Tattersalls
Tattersalls
Tattersalls is the main auctioneer of race horses in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It was founded in 1766 by Richard Tattersall , who had been stud groom to the second Duke of Kingston. The first premises occupied were near Hyde Park Corner, in what was then the outskirts of London...
. Later that year, he exhibited himself in York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
. In , he set off on another tour of East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
, to conclude in Stamford
Stamford, Lincolnshire
Stamford is a town and civil parish within the South Kesteven district of the county of Lincolnshire, England. It is approximately to the north of London, on the east side of the A1 road to York and Edinburgh and on the River Welland...
during the Stamford Races. One account suggests that this tour was intended to be his last, as he was then sufficiently wealthy to retire. While on the tour, Lambert was weighed in Ipswich; his weight was 52 stone 11 lb (739 lb; 335 kg). No longer able to use stairs, he took lodgings on the ground floor of the Waggon & Horses inn at 47 Stamford High Street on 20 June.
Death
Following his arrival at Stamford, Lambert sent a message to the Stamford MercuryStamford Mercury
The Stamford Mercury based in Stamford, Lincolnshire claims to be "Britain's oldest newspaper". Berrow's Worcester Journal and London Gazette also claim this honour...
, ordering advertisements and handbills. Stating that "as the Mountain could not wait upon Mahomet
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
, Mahomet would go to the mountain", he asked the printer to visit him at the Waggon & Horses, to discuss his printing requirements. That evening, Lambert was in bed and admitted to feeling tired, but nonetheless he was able to discuss his requirements with the printer, and was anxious that the handbills be delivered on time.
On the morning of 21 June, Lambert woke at his usual time and appeared in good health. As he began to shave, he complained of breathing difficulties. Ten minutes later, he collapsed and died.
There was no autopsy, and the cause of Lambert's death is unknown. While many sources say that he died of a fatty degeneration of the heart or of stress on his heart caused by his bulk, his behaviour in the period leading to his death does not match that of someone suffering from cardiac insufficiency; witnesses agree that on the morning of his death he appeared well, before he became short of breath and collapsed. Bondeson (2006) speculates that the most consistent explanation of his death, given his symptoms and medical history, is that he had a sudden pulmonary embolism
Pulmonary embolism
Pulmonary embolism is a blockage of the main artery of the lung or one of its branches by a substance that has travelled from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream . Usually this is due to embolism of a thrombus from the deep veins in the legs, a process termed venous thromboembolism...
.
Burial
Lambert's corpse rapidly began to putrefy. There was no question of his body being returned to Leicester, and so on 22 June, it was placed inside an elmElm
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus Ulmus in the plant family Ulmaceae. The dozens of species are found in temperate and tropical-montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ranging southward into Indonesia. Elms are components of many kinds of natural forests...
coffin, 6 feet 4 inches long, 4 feet 4 inches wide and 2 feet 4 inches deep (193 cm × 132 cm × 71 cm), built on wheels to allow it to be moved. The coffin was so large that to wheel it out of the inn and to the newly opened burial ground
Burial Ground
Burial Ground is the ninth studio album by Swedish death metal band Grave, released in June 2010.-Track listing:# "Liberation" - 3:40# "Semblance In Black" - 7:50# "Dismembered Mind" - 6:10# "Ridden With Belief" - 7:57# "Conquerer" - 4:44...
at the rear of St Martin's Church
St Martin's Church, Stamford
St Martin's Church, Stamford is a parish church in the Church of England located in Stamford, Lincolnshire, England. The area of the town, south of the River Welland, was in Northamptonshire until 1889 and is called Stamford Baron or St Martin's.-History:...
, the window and wall of his apartment were demolished. A suitably sized grave had been dug, with a sloping approach to avoid the need to lower the coffin from above, but on 23 June, it nonetheless took almost half an hour for twenty men to pull Lambert's enormous coffin into the grave.
Lambert's friends paid for a large gravestone, inscribed:
In Remembrance of that Prodigy in Nature.
DANIEL LAMBERT.
a Native of Leicester:
who was possessed of an exalted and convivial Mind
and in personal Greatness had no Competitor
He measured three Feet one Inch round the Leg
nine Feet four Inches round the Body
and weighed
Fifty two Stone eleven Pounds!
He departed this Life on the 21st of
Aged 39 years
As a Testimony of Respect this Stone is erected by his Friends in Leicester
After death
In late 1809, a Mr J. Drakard released The life of that wonderful and extraordinary heavy man, the late Danl. Lambert, from his birth to the moment of his dissolution, with an account of men noted for their corpulency, and other interesting matter, the first full biography of Lambert to be released after his death. Lambert's position as the heaviest person in recorded history was soon overtaken by the American Mills DardenMills Darden
Mills Darden is alleged to have been one of the largest men in history. He was widely reported to have stood approximately tall and is said to have weighed around at his heaviest...
(1799–1857), but Lambert had by now become a cult figure, and virtually every item connected with him was preserved for posterity. His clothes and possessions were sold at auction to collectors, and many of them are preserved in museums today.
Across England, many public houses and inns were renamed after Daniel Lambert, particularly in Leicester and Stamford. The Daniel Lambert public house at 12 Ludgate Hill
Ludgate Hill
Ludgate Hill is a hill in the City of London, near the old Ludgate, a gate to the City that was taken down, with its attached gaol, in 1780. Ludgate Hill is the site of St Paul's Cathedral, traditionally said to have been the site of a Roman temple of the goddess Diana. It is one of the three...
, near the entrance to St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
in London, was well known, and had a large portrait of Daniel Lambert and Lambert's walking stick on display in the lobby. James Dixon, owner of the Ram Jam Inn in Stamford, bought the suit of clothes Lambert had been wearing when he died and put it on display, renaming the inn the Daniel Lambert.
The term "Daniel Lambert" entered common use in English speech and writing, to refer to any fat man. His name continued in this use long after the details of his life had been largely forgotten; in 1852, Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
remarked that "Lambert's name is known better than his history". Dickens's Nicholas Nickleby compares the obese George IV
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
to Lambert, and William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist of the 19th century. He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society.-Biography:...
used the term in Vanity Fair to refer to the obese Joseph Sedley, and in The Luck of Barry Lyndon
The Luck of Barry Lyndon
The Luck of Barry Lyndon is a picaresque novel by William Makepeace Thackeray, first published in serial form in 1844, about a member of the Irish gentry trying to become a member of the English aristocracy...
to refer to the fat servant Tim. As time progressed, "Daniel Lambert" came to mean anything exceptionally large; Herbert Spencer
Herbert Spencer
Herbert Spencer was an English philosopher, biologist, sociologist, and prominent classical liberal political theorist of the Victorian era....
's The Study of Sociology used the phrase "a Daniel Lambert of learning", while Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle was a Scottish satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher during the Victorian era.He called economics "the dismal science", wrote articles for the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, and became a controversial social commentator.Coming from a strict Calvinist family, Carlyle was...
referred sarcastically to Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
as "this big swollen Gambler and gluttonous hapless 'spiritual Daniel Lambert'". In 1874, The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, in reviewing the newly translated French comedy La Fiammina by Mario Uchard in which a character is named "Daniel Lambert", noted that the name is "always associated in the English mind with the notion of obesity", and in 1907, almost 100 years after Lambert's death, the Château de Chambord
Château de Chambord
The royal Château de Chambord at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France is one of the most recognizable châteaux in the world because of its very distinct French Renaissance architecture which blends traditional French medieval forms with classical Renaissance structures.The building, which was never...
was referred to as "the Daniel Lambert among châteaux". Nellie Lambert Ensall, at the time the heaviest woman in Britain, claimed in 1910 to be Daniel Lambert's great-granddaughter, but her claim is likely to be untrue; Lambert was unmarried and is unlikely to have had any children.
In 1838, the English Annual published a series of poems, purportedly written by Lambert and found amongst his papers at the Waggon and Horses after his death. No source published during Lambert's lifetime mentions his having any interest in poetry or in any reading matter other than periodicals on field sports, and it is unclear why his papers should have been with him in Stamford at his death, rather than at his home in Leicester. The discoverer of the poems is credited only as "Omega". It is possible that the poems are a hoax.
P. T. Barnum and General Tom Thumb
P. T. BarnumP. T. Barnum
Phineas Taylor Barnum was an American showman, businessman, scam artist and entertainer, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and for founding the circus that became the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus....
and the 25-inch (64 cm) tall General Tom Thumb
General Tom Thumb
General Tom Thumb was the stage name of Charles Sherwood Stratton , a dwarf who achieved great fame under circus pioneer P.T. Barnum.-Early life:...
(Charles Sherwood Stratton) visited Stamford in 1846 and donated one of Thumb's costumes to Dixon to be displayed alongside Lambert's. General Tom Thumb visited Stamford again in 1859 and was tied up inside one of Lambert's stockings. In 1866, General Tom Thumb, with his equally short wife Lavinia Warren
Lavinia Warren
Lavinia Warren was an American proportionate dwarf and the wife of General Tom Thumb.-Early life:Warren was born at Middleborough, Massachusetts as Mercy Lavinia Warren Bump, a descendant of a French Catholic family named Bonpasse, of Governor Thomas Mayhew, and five Mayflower passengers: John...
(Mercy Lavinia Warren Bump), her sister Minnie Warren
Minnie Warren
Huldah Pierce Warren Bump , better known as Minnie Warren, was a 19th century dwarf who gained fame as an associate of P.T. Barnum. Her sister, Lavinia Warren, was married to General Tom Thumb....
(Huldah Pierce Warren Bump) and Barnum's other celebrated dwarf Commodore Nutt
Commodore Nutt
George Washington Morrison Nutt , better known by his stage name Commodore Nutt, was a 19th century dwarf who became famous working for P. T. Barnum.-Early life:Nutt was born in Manchester, New Hampshire...
(George Washington Morrison Nutt) visited Stamford. All four were able to pass through the knee of Lambert's breeches together. In 1866, Lambert's and Tom Thumb's clothes were sold to the Old London Tavern in Stamford; they are now on display at the Stamford Museum
Stamford Museum
Stamford Museum was located in Stamford, Lincolnshire in Great Britain. It was housed in a Victorian building in Broad Street, Stamford and was run by the museum services of Lincolnshire County Council from 1980 to 2011.-The building and area:...
. (In , it was announced that the Stamford Museum is to close in . The exhibits are to be transferred to Stamford Library.)
The 1806 waxwork of Lambert was exported to the United States and was on show in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
, by 1813. By 1828, the effigy was displayed in the Boston Vauxhall Gardens
Washington Gardens (Boston)
Washington Gardens was a place of public entertainment and refreshment in early 19th-century Boston, Massachusetts. Also known as Vauxhall, it specialized in fireworks, circuses, musical and theatrical performances, pictorial exhibitions, and the occasional balloonist and necromancer. John H...
dressed in a complete set of Lambert's clothes. It was later bought by P.T. Barnum and displayed at Barnum's American Museum
Barnum's American Museum
Barnum's American Museum was located at the corner of Broadway and Ann Street in New York City, USA, from 1841 to 1865. The museum was owned by famous showman P.T. Barnum and his partner and original owner, John Scudder. Prior to their partnership, the museum was known as Scudder's American...
in New York, but the museum was destroyed by fire in 1865 and, although workmen endeavoured to save the waxwork, it melted in the heat and was destroyed.
In popular memory
Lambert is still a popular character in Leicester, described in 2009 by the Leicester MercuryLeicester Mercury
The Leicester Mercury is a British regional newspaper, owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust, for the city of Leicester and the counties of Leicestershire and Rutland...
as "one of the city's most cherished icons"; several local public houses and businesses are named after him. Sue Townsend
Sue Townsend
-Adrian Mole series:* The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ , her best selling book, and the best-selling new British fiction book of the 1980s.* The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole * The True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole...
's play The Ghost of Daniel Lambert, in which Lambert's ghost watches disapprovingly over the 1960s demolition and redevelopment of Leicester's historic town centre, premiered at Leicester's Haymarket Theatre
Haymarket Theatre (Leicester)
The Haymarket Theatre was a theatre in Leicester, England, based in the Haymarket Shopping Centre on Belgrave Gate in Leicester city centre. The theatre closed at the end of 2006 and has been replaced by the Curve Theatre...
in 1981. Lambert is also a popular figure in Stamford, and local football team Stamford A.F.C. are nicknamed "The Daniels", after him.
A set of Lambert's clothes, together with his armchair, walking stick, riding crop and prayer book, are on permanent display at the Newarke Houses Museum
Newarke Houses Museum
The Newarke Houses Museum is a public museum in Leicester, England. It incorporates the museum of the Royal Leicestershire Regiment. It occupies two buildings: Wyggeston's Chantry House , and Skeffington House .- External links :*...
in Leicester. Stamford Museum
Stamford Museum
Stamford Museum was located in Stamford, Lincolnshire in Great Britain. It was housed in a Victorian building in Broad Street, Stamford and was run by the museum services of Lincolnshire County Council from 1980 to 2011.-The building and area:...
exhibited a tailor's dummy, dressed with Daniel Lambert's clothes as if they are being made up for him, plus his hat and a recently purchased portrait. There is also a display about General Tom Thumb, including the suit of Tom Thumb's clothes donated by Barnum to Dixon. The Daniel Lambert pub in Ludgate Hill no longer exists, and the memorabilia formerly displayed there are now on permanent display at the George Hotel
George Hotel, Stamford
The George Hotel is a former coaching inn on the route of the Great North Road in St Martin's Without near Stamford, Lincolnshire, England.-External links:*...
in Stamford. The Daniel Lambert pub in Stamford has also closed.
In 2009, on the 200th anniversary of his death, Leicester celebrated Daniel Lambert Day, and over 800 people attended an event in his name at Newarke Houses Museum.