Lamy was born in the commune of Ney in the department of Jura, France in 1820. He studied at the École Normale Supérieure, Paris. After he graduated from University in 1842 he became a teacher at Lille then at Limoges and again in Lille. In 1851 he received his Ph.D. In 1854 he became a professor at the faculty of sciences of Lille (Université Lille Nord de France). He taught at École des arts industriels et des mines (École centrale de Lille). In 1866 he changed to the École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures (École centrale de Paris). Lamy died in 1878.