Initially, the area of the present airport was a balloon launch location called Kinloch Field. President Teddy Roosevelt, the first president to ride in an airplane, took his first ride here. Soon after, the first experimental parachute jump in the world took place in
St Louis. Major Albert Lambert purchased Kinloch Field and renamed it Lambert Field. He was the first person in
St Louis to receive his private pilot's license, having taken his first flight accompanied by Orville Wright.
In 1928, Lambert- St Louis Municipal Airport became the first municipally owned airport in the country. The first commercial service was to New Orlenas, followed by Detroit.
In 1938, the airport handled 40,000 passengers, a figure which had grown to 27 million by 1996. Ten major airlines and five commuter airlines use 81 gates within the 4 concourses at Lambert.
