Physician/Surgeon
Centurion, 1909–1952
Born 30 June 1872 in New York (Manhattan), New York
Died 15 October 1952 in New York (Manhattan), New York
Buried Woodlawn Cemetery
, Bronx, New York
Proposed by David H. Greer and Henry McM. Painter
Elected 3 April 1909 at age thirty-six
Archivist’s Note: Son of Edward W. Lambert; brother of Samuel W. Lambert; uncle of Samuel Waldron Lambert Jr.
Century Memorial
Adrian Lambert graduated from Yale in 1893 and from the Columbia Medical School in 1896. He was the youngest of three brothers all of whom were distinguished doctors of the City [including Samuel Waldron Lambert, Jr.], as their father [Samuel W. Lambert] had been before them. He joined the faculty of the College of Physicians and Surgeons (Columbia) in 1901 and became Clinical Professor of Surgery in 1924. He was associated particularly with Bellevue and Presbyterian Hospitals.
Early in his career, while serving as a surgical intern at New York Hospital, some pus entered his eyes in the course of an operation, in consequence of which he lost his right eye. This great handicap he fully surmounted, but it undoubtedly had a collateral effect on his personality so that he sometimes seemed difficult. He was a first-class teacher and would not endure mediocrity or sloppy work. His mind was orderly and organized, and he had a keen sense of humor and a goodly store of sarcasm that he lavished on his resident staff whenever he considered it necessary for their good.
He was an exceedingly skillful surgeon—dexterous, resourceful, and ingenious—and in his heyday he had no peer in thoracic surgery. He was not gregarious, and he came to the Club but seldom. His close friends were few, but to them he was entirely loyal, and they, in turn, were devoted to him.
George W. Martin
1953 Century Association Yearbook