The history of scuba diving begins in the 1930s, when Jacques Cousteau, a French engineer, produces the first underwater film. Simone Cousteau and her husband loaded black and white still camera films into a movie camera. The first underwater movie was produced. Emile Gagnan of L'Air Liquide et Cie is responsible for designing the Aqualung. It's the first commercially viable scuba device. The prototype units were tested in 1943 by the Cousteau clan.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Jacques-Yves Cousteau was a French citizen, born in Marseilles. He spent his childhood snorkeling in the warm waters around Marseilles. After graduating from highschool, he chose to join the navy. During his time with the navy, he was a naval guns instructor and a master diver. He was fascinated by the ocean and began diving to explore it. He also invented an underwater camera.
Emile Gagnan
Emile Gagnan is responsible for many of the innovations in modern SCUBA dives. Aqualung is a breathing device that allows a diver underwater to breathe. It was developed by his work in 1950. With this invention, scuba diving became safer and more accessible.
Henry Fleuss
Henry Fleuss is an innovator in scubadiving history. He is also credited for many other innovations, including the self-contained breathing apparatus. He worked at several companies, including Siebe, Gorman & Co., where he patented the designs in 1878. His invention was revolutionary in that it allowed the diver the freedom to work without the assistance of a pump and a large crew.
Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini is the most common person you associate with scuba diving. After all, the master escape artist performed a series of incredible escapes, including one from a box underwater! He demonstrated how to escape from a lock, straitjacket and suspended objects. He was immortalized in motion-pictures for his escape skills.
Mark V diving helmet
The Mark V diving helmet has a rich history in scuba diving. It was first created for the US Navy, in 1916. It continued to be 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 story of scuba diving is more than a tale about adventures under the water. He was a scientist, who did many dives into the water for scientific research. 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 was the first to make a descent into deep water using a bathysphere. A device that lowers a person to 3 028 feet (923 m) in depth. This record stood for 49 years.