Jacques Cousteau
Jacques Cousteau devoted his life to ocean exploration after World War II. He bought a Calypso mining boat and traveled around the world in it, including to the Antarctic Circle. He carried out experiments and collected data, which he used for the Calypso-Phot underwater camera and the SP-350 deep-sea 2-man submarine.
Cousteau began to research the aqua lung, which is a new breathing apparatus. This apparatus allowed Cousteau, although it could only be used for shallow dives, to control his airflow. Cousteau discovered that there was a better way for air to flow to help him explore the depths. Through his experimentation, he developed the demand regulator which allows air to flow only on demand. This invention would allow divers to increase their air supply and prevent decompression sickness.
Yves le Prieur
Yves le Prieur's contributions to scubadiving date back to early 1900s. 1946 saw the invention of a fullface face mask with a loose top plate. It was a kind of demand regulator diaphragm. The diving regulator was his next invention.
The first scuba dive apparatus was patented in 1933. The Fernez-Le-Prieur air supply system was combined with the Denayrouze-Rouquayrol demand regulator. It revolutionized the world of scuba diving, making it affordable and easy to use underwater breathing devices. This was the birth of recreational scuba.
Guy Gilpatric
Guy Gilpatric, a diver himself, has made many contributions to the history scuba diving. He wrote the first manual for sport diving, and his articles in The Saturday Evening Post were amongst the first to discuss scuba diving. He was fascinated by the sea and the natural world and decided to travel the Mediterranean to write about it. It is said that the book inspired Jacques Cousteau who would later go on and create modern scuba dive.
In the early 20th-century, the invention of modern scuba diving equipment began. Guy Gilpatric an American marine biologist invented a system that allowed divers access to air without the use or surface air. Later, Yves Le Prier invented a self-contained underwater breathing system. He sold the system to Owen Churchill, and the scuba rig quickly gained popularity. Guy Gilpatric designed rubber goggles with lenses made from glass, swim fins, masks, snorkels, and face masks.
Yves Gagnan
Scuba divers used to depend on their helmets, diving bells, or air hoses from above at the beginning of this century. Yves Gagnan a Parisian engineer helped them develop a demand system. The new device offered compressed air on demand, and was capable adjusting to the water pressure. This discovery enabled people of all levels to explore oceans.
Gagnan was born in Burgundy, France, in 1900. After graduating from college, Gagnan began work at Air Liquide. He studied high pressure pneumatic design. This was the beginning of modern scuba equipment.