Daniel Lambert
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Daniel Lambert (March 13, 1770 - June 21, 1809) was a man from Leicester in England, who became famous for his obesity.
Lambert was the son of the keeper of Leicester's Bridewell (a "house of correction", similar to the later workhouses). Between the ages of 14 and 21 he was apprenticed to an engraver in Birmingham, before returning to Leicester to take over his father's job. His dramatic weight gain seems to have started at this time - although a sturdy and athletic youth and a keen sportsman who claimed to eat in moderation and avoided alcohol, by 1793 he weighed 448lb, and in 1804 his weight had reached 686lb. In that year, the Bridewell was merged with the city prison, and Lambert was made redundant and granted a pension. He seems to have been well-liked by the prisoners, and had a reputation as a wit, and a breeder of fighting cocks and greyhounds. When he reached the weight of 700 lb (318 kg) in 1806, he commissioned a special carriage to take him to London, and charged one shilling (£0.05) a head to look at him (a very large sum at that time). Lambert toured several English cities during the next few years, despite disliking the attention - the cost of having clothes and furniture specially made for him meant that he needed the money. He died suddenly during a visit to Stamford for the races in 1809. The wall of the public house in which he was staying had to be dismantled to remove his body. His weight at the time of his death was 739 pounds (336 kg), his height was 5 feet 11 inches, and his waist measurement was 9 feet 4 inches. He is now buried in St. Martin's churchyard in Stamford. At the time it was thought that he was the fattest man in the country, and possibly beyond. The Stamford Museum has a display that contrasts his clothes with those of the man thought to be the smallest in the local area. The Newarke Houses Museum in Leicester houses many artefacts from Daniel Lamberts' life.
An apocryphal local anecdote is that he would visit the many pubs in Stamford and challenge visitors to a race, with the one proviso he had a small head start. There are many narrow passageways in Stamford that act as short cuts between the major streets. Once he was ahead, he would use these passageways and because of his size prevent his opponent from being able to pass. The result was that despite his size he would always win.
