Jacques Cousteau And His Contribution To The World Of Scuba Diving

Jacques Cousteau was a world famous undersea explorer, ecologist,
scientist, photographer and author famous for bringing knowledge and
awareness of the aquatic world to millions of people. In his lifetime
he made over 120 documentaries, won four Oscars and ten Emmys. He also
published 50 books and founded an environmental protection foundation.
He was also the co-inventor of the Aqua-Lung, which eventually led to
the development of today's modern scuba diving equipment. His aquatic
research was pivotal in the development of the environmental
movement.Nicknamed 'le Commandant Cousteau' or 'Captain Cousteau'
Jacques-Yves Cousteau was born in 1910 in France, joining the naval
academy in 1930 where he eventually became a gunnery officer. Whilst
training as a pilot he suffered a car accident which meant he could
not continue with a career in naval aviation and he turned his
attentions to the ocean. He began to carry out underwater experiments
for which he used Fernez underwater goggles. These initial experiments
led to a desire to be able to explore underwater for longer and with
greater ease of movement. As a result he co-developed the
Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus (SCUBA) in 1943 with
engineer Emile Gagnan, a groundbreaking moment in underwater
exploration. Over the next forty years Cousteau conducted research
with his colleagues, Tailliez and Frederic using a modified mine
sweeper called Calypso. His two sons from his first marriage joined
him on many of his expeditions.Further research and experimentation
with colleagues led to improvements of the Aqua-Lung, the design of a
wind powered Turbosail and eventually the launch of the ship Alcyone
which was used for many expeditions. In conjunction with Jean Mollard
he constructed a diving saucer, an underwater vehicle that was able to
reach a depth of 350 metres. By 1965 he had achieved a depth of 500
metres with two subsequent underwater vehicles. Cousteau was
accurately able to predict the echolocation abilities of porpoises,
later confirmed by scientists. These ideas were published in his first
book, the Silent World in 1953. He won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes
Film Festival in 1956 for the film of the same name.Cousteau formed
The Cousteau Society in 1974 in order to create a formal organisation
to protect the environment and later the Foundation Cousteau in 1981.
The efficacy of Cousteau and these organisations was apparent, when in
1990 he led a successful campaign to save Antarctica from mineral
exploitation. In 1977 the United Nations awarded him the International
Environmental Prize and by 1988 he joined the UN Environmental
Programme's Global 500 Roll of Honour of Environmental Protection.
Jacques Cousteau was also made a chevalier of the Legion of Honour in
recognition of his service to the Resistance and was made an Officer
and later a Commandeur in recognition of the contributions he made to
the scientific world.Jacques Cousteau died in June 1997, aged 87 but
the ethos, research and environmental work continue under the
umbrellas of The Cousteau Society and Equipe Cousteau (formerly
Foundation Cousteau). The Cousteau Society is looking to transform the
Calypso into a museum and raise funds to build a Calypso II.