William G. Lambert papers, bulk 1956-1969

William G. Lambert (1920-1998), an investigative journalist, was born in Langford, SD on February 2, 1920. After decorated military service in the U.S. Army during World War II in the Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO), Lambert, became a reporter and news editor at the Enterprise-Courier, Oregon City, OR. In 1950, Lambert joined The Oregonian, Portland. At The Oregonian, he teamed up with Wallace L. Turner (1921-2010) on a five-part series that uncovered widespread vice and corruption within the municipal Portland city government that involved labor union officials of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, Western Conference. These reports would spur U.S. congressional investigations into organized crime across the country. In 1957, for example, Lambert and Turner testified before the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee of Investigations. Lambert and Turner would also receive the 1957 Pulitzer Prize for "Local Reporting – No edition time". The Pulitzer Prize Board stated: "They fulfilled their assignments despite great handicaps and the risk of reprisal from lawless elements."

After a brief stint as an anchor and news director at KPTV Oregon Television, in 1963, Lambert joined Life magazine as a staff reporter. At Life, he wrote an article that brought down U.S. Associate Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas (1910-1982), who was compelled to resign from the court in 1969. In 1970, Lambert accepted the George Polk Award for his 1969 reporting on the Fortas case. Besides Fortas, Lambert and his colleagues also wrote investigative pieces on such figures as controversial attorney Roy M. Cohn (1927-1986) and U.S. Dem. NJ Congressman Cornelius E. Gallagher (1921-2018).

Lambert went on to report for the Time-Life News Service (1971-1973) and The Philadelphia Inquirer (1974-1990). During the course of his distinguished career, Lambert received many awards including a Pulitzer Prize for local reporting (1957); Heywood Broun Award (1957); Nieman Fellowship for Journalism, Harvard University (1960); award for magazine reporting Sigma Delta Chi (1967); Worth Bingham Prize for distinguished reporting (1967); Heywood Broun Award (1969); George Polk Award for magazine reporting Abe Fortas articles (1969); Sigma Delta Chi Award, National Headliners Club Award, Page One Award (1970); Pennsylvania Bar Association Award, Philadelphia Bar Association award, Philadelphia Sigma Delta Chi award, Associated Press Managing Editors Award (Pennsylvania) (1981). Upon his retirement, he went on to work as a libel litigation consultant (1990-1998). On February 2, 1998, William G. Lambert passed away after a long illness. Upon hearing of Lambert's death, the former Philadelphia Inquirer executive editor Eugene Leslie "Gene" Roberts, Jr., who hired Lambert in 1974, asserted that "he was the modern-day father of investigative journalism."