William Lambert (1817 – April 28, 1890) was a prominent African-American citizen and abolitionist in Detroit, Michigan during the mid to late 19th century. With a formal education and a background in the anti-slavery movement from a young age he would become a significant figure in Detroit's local black community and the city at large for over 50 years. In the late 1840s Lambert actions in helping a fugitive slave's escape into Canada from Detroit would play a part in the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850.