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. In 1943, the Cousteau family tested the prototype units.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Jacques-Yves Cousteau was a Marseilles native. He spent his youth snorkeling in and around the warm Mediterranean waters. After graduating high school, he entered the navy. He was a naval gunnery officer and a master diver during his time in the navy. After his time in the navy, he was fascinated by the underwater world and started to swim down to explore the seabed. He also developed an underwater photography camera.
Emile Gagnan
Emile Gagnan was the inventor of many modern innovations in SCUBA diving. Aqualung was created by Emile Gagnan in the 1950s. This breathing apparatus allows the diver to inhale underwater air. This invention made diving safer and easier for everyone.
Henry Fleuss
Henry Fleuss, a pioneer of scuba dive history, is Henry Fleuss. He is also credited for many other innovations, including the self-contained breathing apparatus. His designs were patented in 1878 by several companies, including Siebe, Gorman & Co. His invention was revolutionary because it allowed the diver to work independently of the surface, without having to rely on a pump or a large crew.
Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini will be the first person that comes to mind when you think of scuba dive. Harry Houdini was a master escape artist who performed many amazing escapes including one from an underwater box! He also demonstrated how to escape from a straitjacket, locks, and suspended objects. His escape skills were immortalized in motion pictures.
Mark V diving helmet
Mark V diving helmets have a long history in scuba diving. It was originally designed for the US Navy in 1916, and it was still used until 1984. It is the original diving helmet. There are many other helmets that date back to the 1820s or earlier.
William Beebe
William Beebe's scuba diving story is not just a tale of adventures under the sea. He was a scientist who made many diving trips into the ocean to study scientific phenomena. He established a marine laboratory at Nonsuch Island, Bermudas, and studied the aquatic life. 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 was held until 1949.