Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1892, volume 3).djvu/638

602 La., until the civil war. Dr. Lamm served in the Confederate army under Gen. Braxton Bragg during the war, and after its close resumed his practice in New Orleans. As a boy he showed decided mechanical ingenuity, and in 1809 devised an ammoniacal fireless engine for the propulsion of street-cars. The system was tested by street railway companies in New Orleans, New York, St. Louis, and other cities, with satisfactory results; but owing to Mr Lamm's premature death and unfortunate management on the part of the company that controlled the patent, the motor has not been put into practical operation in the United States. The system has been introduced in France and Germany, where it has been improved and perfected, so that at present (1887) it is extensively used for street-cars and vehicles. During his work on this invention he became impressed with the facility with which the vapor of water may be condensed, even at an elevated temperature, in water under high pressure ; and pursuing his experiments, he produced another fireless engine, which he patented in 1872, and which is now in practical use. He also invented a method for the manufacture of sponge gold, for which he obtained a patent and a gold medal at the Mechanics' fair in New Orleans. This process is used largely by dentists throughout the United States. Dr. Lamm was a fellow of the New Orleans academy of sciences. He was drowned.

LA MOUNTAIN, John, aëronaut, b. in Wayne county, N. Y., in 1830; d. in Lansingburgh, N. Y., in 1878. He had but little education, and on the early death of his father he became the sole support of his mother. When a young man he was successful in making several minor ascensions. He then formed the idea of making a longer voyage than any on record, and constructed a large balloon of silk, having an approximate capacity of 70,000 cubic feet, which he named &ldquo;The Atlantic.&rdquo; The ascent was made from St. Louis, Mo., on 1 July, 1859, and several passengers, including John Wise, accompanied the aëronaut. The states of Illinois and Indiana were passed over during the night, and Ohio was reached in the morning. The balloon then passed across Lake Erie into New York, and to Lake Ontario, into which it descended, but rose again, and a landing was made in Henderson, Jefferson co., N. Y. The time occupied in making this journey was nineteen hours and fifty minutes, and the distance traversed 1,150 miles, or 826 in an air line. The honor of planning and executing this greatest of all aërial voyages is due to La Mountain alone, although the credit for it has been claimed by others. In September, 1859, he made an ascension from Watertown, N. Y., which was remarkable on account of his perilous experience. The ascension was made when the temperature was 84&deg; F., but on reaching a height of three and one-half miles it had sunk to 18&deg; F. As night came on, the balloon was over the Canadian wilderness, and a partial descent was made to &ldquo;tie up&rdquo; till daylight came, when he again proceeded in a northerly direction. Unwilling to continue farther, he descended during the day, and wandered in the wilderness for four days, without adequate food or clothing, until rescued by lumbermen 150 miles north of Ottawa, and 300 miles from Watertown. In 1862 he was appointed aëronautic engineer to the Army of the Potomac, under Thaddeus S. C. Lowe (q. v.) and in that capacity made several ascensions, but, owing to lack of cordiality between himself and Mr. Lowe, soon severed his connection with the army. Subsequently he made occasional ascensions, but none of importance.

LAMPSON, Sir Curtis Miranda, bart., b. in Vermont, 21 Sept., 1806 ; d. in London, England, 13 March, 1885. He went to England in 1830, and was naturalized in 1848. On the formation of the company for laying the Atlantic telegraph, in 1856, he was appointed one of the directors, and became vice-president. The aid rendered by him in the undertaking was acknowledged in a letter from Lord Derby to Sir Stafford Northcote, who presided at the banquet given at Liverpool, 1 Oct., 1866, in honor of those who had been active in laying the cable. Sir Curtis was deputy governor of the Hudson bay company, and one of the trustees of the fund that was given by his friend, the late George Peabody, for the benefit of the poor of London. On 13 Nov., 1866, he was made a baronet. His only daughter is the wife of Frederick Locker, the English poet and Shakespearian collector.

LAMSON, Alvan, clergyman, b. in Weston, Mass., 18 Nov., 1792 ; d. in Dedham, Mass., 17 July, 1864. He was graduated at Harvard in 1814, and appointed tutor in Bowdoin, but left in 1816, and entered the Harvard divinity-school. In 1818 he became pastor of the First church in Dedham, Mass., which charge he retained till 1860. He was a vigorous writer, a contributor to the &ldquo;Christian Examiner,&rdquo; and the author of &ldquo;History of the First Church in Dedham&rdquo; (Dedham, Mass., 1839); &ldquo;Sermons&rdquo; (Boston, 1857) ; and &ldquo;The Church of the First Three Centuries&rdquo; (2d ed., 1865).

LAMSON, Daniel Lowell, physician, b. in Hopkinton, N. H., 18 June, 1834. He was educated at Hopkinton and Fryeburg academies, and was graduated in medicine at the University of New York in March, 1857. He settled in practice in Fryeburg, Me., in 1862, was appointed state-examiner for volunteers and drafted men, and in 1864 U. S. pension examining surgeon, which post he still retains. Dr. Lamson has invented an adjustable gauge spring-vaccinator and several mechanical appliances that are used in surgery. He constructed a double-seam sewing-machine as early as 1859, and has also devised a double-heating furnace using coal or wood, which he patented in 1868, and an endless cutter mowing-machine in 1870. He is the author of &ldquo;Lectures&rdquo; (Fryeburg, 1872) and &ldquo;Differential Diagnosis of Disease&ldquo; (1870).

LAMY, John Baptist, R. C. archbishop, b. in Auvergne, France, in 1814; d. in Santa Fe, New Mexico, 13 Feb., 1888. He came to the United States after his ordination, and was stationed in 1839 in Ohio, where he secured the construction of a fine church. He was engaged in missionary work in Ohio until about 1848, when he was appointed pastor of St. Mary's, Covington, Ky., then in the diocese of Cincinnati. When the province of New Mexico was acquired by the United States, religion had greatly declined there. No bishop had visited the country for eighty years; the Franciscans, who had ministered for centuries to the Spaniards and Indians, had been removed, and all schools had been closed. To remedy these evils the holy see formed from the territory a vicariate-apostolic, and Father Lamy was consecrated bishop of Agathonica, 24 Nov., 1850. The territory then contained a population of 60,000 whites and 8,000 Indians, with twenty-five churches and forty chapels. Bishop Lamy endeavored to obtain exemplary priests to attend to the spiritual wants of his people, and under his direction the Sisters of Loreto opened an academy in 1853. On 29 July of the same year the see of Santa Fé was created, and Dr. Lamy elected its first bishop. He visited Europe to obtain aid, and returned with four priests, a deacon, and two subdeacons. He also succeeded in securing the