The origins of scubadiving began in the 1930s when Jacques Cousteau - a French engineer - produced the first underwater video. He and his wife Simone load a black and white still camera film into a movie camera, and it is the first underwater movie to be produced. The first commercially viable scuba system comes along in 1943, when Emile Gagnan, an industrial gas control systems engineer at L'Air Liquide et Cie, designs the Aqualung. The prototype units were tested by the Cousteau Family in 1943.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Jacques-Yves Cousteau grew up in Marseilles, France. He spent his childhood swimming in the warm ocean around his home. After graduating high school he decided to join the navy. During his time in the navy, he became a naval gunnery instructor and became a master diver. After his time in the navy, he was fascinated by the underwater world and started to swim down to explore the seabed. He also invented an underwater camera.
Emile Gagnan
Many of the innovations used in modern SCUBA diving were developed by Emile Gagnan. Aqualung, which allows divers to breathe underwater air, was born from his 1950s work. The Aqualung was invented to make scuba diving safer and more accessible for everyone.
Henry Fleuss
Henry Fleuss is an innovator in scubadiving history. He invented the self-contained breathing system and many other innovations. He worked in several companies, such as Siebe, Gorman & Co., before he patented his designs. It was revolutionary in that it allowed the diver work alone without the need for a pump or large crew.
Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini will be the first person that comes to mind when you think of scuba dive. After all, the master escape artist performed a series of incredible escapes, including one from a box underwater! He also demonstrated how to escape from a straitjacket, locks, and suspended objects. His escape techniques have been immortalized on motion pictures.
Mark V diving helmet
The Mark V diving helmet has a rich history in scuba diving. It was first designed for the US Navy in 1916 and was used until 1984. It is considered the original diving helmet. There are however other helmets which date back to 1820s and even earlier.
William Beebe
William Beebe's diving adventures are more than just tales of adventure under the sea. He was also an explorer who took many dives to the sea for scientific research. He constructed a marine laboratory in Nonsuch Island, Bermudas to study the underwater world. He studied the behavior of sea creatures and developed a unique diving helmet and breathing apparatus. Beebe also made the first known descent into the deep ocean using a bathysphere, a device that lowered a person to a depth of 3,028 feet (923 meters). This record stood until 1949.