The beginning of scuba diving's history begins in 1930s when Jacques Cousteau (a French engineer) creates the first underwater movie. Simone Cousteau and her husband loaded black and white still camera films into a movie camera. The first underwater movie was produced. Emile Gagnan, an engineer in industrial gas control systems at L'Air Liquide et Cie designed the Aqualung. In 1943, it becomes commercially feasible to dive. The Cousteau family tests the prototype units 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 entered 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, a breathing system that allows a diver breathe in underwater water, was the result of his efforts in the 1950s. This invention made diving safer and easier for everyone.
Henry Fleuss
Henry Fleuss was a pioneer in scuba diving 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. Because it allowed the diver, regardless of whether he was using a pump or a crew, to work autonomously from the surface, his invention was groundbreaking.
Harry Houdini
When you think of scuba diving, you probably think of Harry Houdini. His incredible escapes included one from a box under water! He demonstrated how to escape from a lock, straitjacket and suspended objects. His escape skills were immortalized in motion pictures.
Mark V diving helmet
Mark V diving gear has a rich history. It was originally designed for the US Navy in 1916, and it was still used until 1984. It is considered the original diving helmet. But, there are still other helmets from the 1820s.
William Beebe
William Beebe's diving adventures are more than just tales of adventure under the sea. He was a scientist who made many diving trips into the ocean to study scientific phenomena. He built a marine laboratory on Nonsuch Island in the Bermudas and studied the underwater life there. He researched the behavior of marine animals and created a unique diving helmet. Beebe also became the first to dive into the deep ocean with a bathysphere. The device was capable of lowering a person down to 3,028ft (923m) below the surface. This record stood for 49 years.