Charles Joseph Lambert | |
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| Born | 2 May 1804 |
| Died | 13 February 1864 (aged 59) |
| Citizenship | France |
| Alma mater | École Polytechnique |
| Occupation(s) | Explorer, Engineer |
| Known for | Suez Canal |
| Awards |  Knight of the Legion of Honour Title of Bey |
Charles Joseph Lambert, also known as Lambert Bey (Valenciennes, May 2, 1804 - Paris, February 13, 1864) was a French explorer and engineer.
Lambert was a student of the École polytechnique (1822) and graduated as a mining engineer (1824). Around the year 1829, Lambert met "father" Barthélemy Prosper Enfantin, Michel Chevalier, and Fournel who were trying to propagate the doctrine of Saint-Simonism. [1]
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 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, 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, and at first taught mathematics in Cairo but soon caught the attention of the Egyptian vice-roy, Muhammad Ali, who gave Lambert several missions: [2]
Lambert created the ( l'École des mines) Mining School which he directed from 1836 to 1840, and then the Bulaq 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, 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.
During his time in Egypt, Lambert attentively studied the work of French engineer, Jacques-Marie Le Père, 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 and he drew the public's attention to this project. [3] These results of these three projects were sent to Louis Maurice Adolphe Linant de Bellefonds by Enfantin. Linant worked together with Eugène Mougel on the project that was later realized by Ferdinand de Lesseps.
Lambert's services in Egypt were rewarded with the title of Bey in 1847.
In 1851, Lambert settled in Paris and devoted his leisure to questions of philosophy: he published a very curious study about the Trinity 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.
Barthélemy-Prosper Enfantin was a French social reformer, one of the founders of Saint-Simonianism. He was also a proponent of a Suez Canal.
Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon, better known as Henri de Saint-Simon, was a French political, economic and socialist theorist and businessman whose thought had a substantial influence on politics, economics, sociology and the philosophy of science. He was a younger relative of the famous memoirist the Duc de Saint-Simon.
Ferdinand Marie, Comte de Lesseps was a French diplomat and later developer of the Suez Canal, which in 1869 joined the Mediterranean and Red Seas, substantially reducing sailing distances and times between Europe and East Asia.
Benjamin Olinde Rodrigues, more commonly known as Olinde Rodrigues, was a French banker, mathematician, and social reformer. In mathematics Rodrigues is remembered for Rodrigues' rotation formula for vectors, the Rodrigues formula for the Legendre polynomials, and the Euler–Rodrigues parameters.
The Suez Company or Suez Canal Company, full initial name Compagnie universelle du canal maritime de Suez, sometimes colloquially referred to in French as Le Suez, was a company formed by Ferdinand de Lesseps in 1858 to operate the Egyptian granted concession of the Suez Canal, which the company built between 1859 and 1869. Initially, French investors held half of the Company's stock, with Egypt's ruler Sa'id Pasha holding most of the balance. In 1875, financial distress forced Sa'id's successor Isma'il Pasha to sell the country's shares to the government of the United Kingdom. The Suez Company operated the canal until Egypt's new president Gamal Abdel Nasser revoked its concession in 1956 and transferred canal operation to the state-owned Suez Canal Authority, precipitating the Suez Crisis.
Louis Maurice Adolphe Linant de Bellefonds better known as Linant Pasha was an explorer of Egypt and, as the chief engineer of Egypt's public works, 1831–1869, an influential engineer of the Suez Canal. He is listed as a founder of the Suez Canal Company.
The Egyptian Department of Public Works was established in the early 19th century, and concentrates mainly on public works relating to irrigation and hydraulic engineering. These irrigation projects have constituted the bulk of work performed by this entity in Egypt. During its almost 200-year history, the Egyptian Department of Public Works employed many notable engineers and constructed massive public works projects throughout the country. It became the most respected engineering entity and was regarded as the 'best school' for civil engineers in modern Egypt. Its history can be broken into three periods:
The International Commission for the piercing of the isthmus of Suez was the commission consisting of various European experts convened in 1855 by Ferdinand de Lesseps as instructed by the viceroy of Egypt Muhammad Sa'id in order to ascertain the feasibility of a canal between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea and to evaluate the best alternative for such a canal.
Ismail Mustafa, Ismail Effendi Mustafa,Ismail Bey Mustapha, Ismail Mustafa al-Falaki or Ismail Pasha al-Falaki was an Egyptian astronomer and mathematician. Effendi, Bey and Pasha corresponded to the different ranks he attained along his career; "al-Falaki" was added to his name literally meaning "the astronomer". He was born in Cairo to a family of Turkish origin and was educated in Paris, France.
The Société d'études du Canal de Suez was a society set up in 1846 by the Saint-Simonist Prosper Enfantin in Paris to study the Isthmus of Suez and the possibility of a Suez Canal.
Abel Étienne Louis Transon was a French mathematician, utopian socialist and journalist.
Paulin Talabot was a French railway and canal engineer. Educated at the École Polytechnique, Talabot started his career building canals. Inspired by George and Robert Stephenson's steam railways in England, he built a line to transport coal from the coal mines at La Grand-Combe to the Mediterranean at Nîmes, which opened in 1839. He visited England and became friends with Robert Stephenson, with whom he surveyed a route for a Suez Canal in 1847.
Claire Démar (1799–1833), was a feminist, journalist and writer, member of the Saint-Simonian movement. The avant-garde nature of her writings has led to her current recognition.
Dieudonné Eugène Mougel aka Eugène Mougel Bey was a French engineer graduated from the École Polytechnique and later working for the Egyptian administration. He built the Nile Barrage near Cairo, a project initially started by Louis Maurice Adolphe Linant de Bellefonds, and contributed as general supervisor to the initial phases of the Suez Canal works. Mougel was chief engineer for the Suez Canal Company from 1859 to 1861, where he worked with superintendent Alphonse Hardon to plan the mobilization infrastructure to build the Suez Canal: the freshwater access canals, freshwater distilleries, and early hand-digging operations. He was listed by Ferdinand de Lesseps as a founder of the Suez Canal Company.
Charles Ménétrier was a French theater critic as well as a playwright.
François Peyrard (1760–1822) was a French mathematician, educator and librarian. During the French Revolution, he was involved in the committee that reformed the French educational system. He was one of the founders of the École Polytechnique and its first librarian.
Charles Ignace Plichon was a French lawyer, businessman and politician. As a young man he was attracted to the social idealism of Saint-Simonianism. In 1841–42 he undertook a diplomatic and exploratory mission to the regency of Tunis, which was seeking French protection from the Turks In 1844–45 he travelled in Egypt to obtain information about the proposed Suez Canal, and returned via Palestine, Syria and Turkey. He represented Hazebrouck in the Nord department as a deputy in the last years of the July Monarchy. He avoided politics during the French Second Republic and the early years of the Second French Empire, then again represented Hazebrouck as a champion of Catholic and protectionist interests from 1857 until his death in 1888. He made a fortunate marriage through which he became President of the Compagnie des mines de Béthune. He was briefly Minister of Public Works in 1870.
François Barthélemy Arlès-Dufour was a French silk merchant and leading exponent of Saint-Simonianism. He was born to a poor family, had little formal education and began work in a shawl factory at the age of 16. Later he joined a silk company based in Leipzig, Germany, married into the owners' family and was placed in charge of its Lyon operations. Working first for his in-laws and then independently, he made a fortune in silk. Arlès-Dufour also became involved in banking, railways and the Suez canal project. He played an important role in the Lyon Chamber of Commerce, and as a member of the jury in various international expositions. He believed in free trade and in social institutions that would help the most disadvantaged social classes.
François Philippe Voisin, (Voisin-Bey) was a French engineer. He was a graduate of the École Polytechnique, an engineer for the Corps of Bridges, Waters and Forests, and was, from 1861 to 1870, the Chief Engineer for the Suez Canal Company in its construction of the Suez Canal.
Narcisse Berchère was a French painter and engraver; best known for his Orientalist works.
charles lambert bey canal de suez.
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