The origins of scubadiving began in the 1930s when Jacques Cousteau - a French engineer - produced the first underwater video. Simone, his wife, loaded a black-and white still camera film into an underwater camera. It is the first underwater film to be made. In 1943, Emile Gagnan (an industrial gas control system engineer at L'Air Liquide et Cie) designs the Aqualung, which is the first commercially viable scuba unit. The prototype units were tested in 1943 by the Cousteau clan.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Jacques-Yves Cousteau was born in Marseilles, France, and spent his early life snorkeling in the warm sea around his hometown. After graduating high school, he entered the navy. He was a naval gunnery officer and a master diver during his time in the navy. Afterward, he became fascinated with the underwater world and swam 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. His work in the 1950s resulted in the Aqualung, a breathing apparatus that allows a diver to breathe in underwater air. This invention made scubadiving safer and more accessible.
Henry Fleuss
Henry Fleuss is an innovator in scubadiving history. He is known for inventing many other innovations. He worked at several companies, including Siebe, Gorman & Co., where he patented the designs in 1878. His invention was revolutionary as it allowed the diver not to depend on any pump or crew to operate independently from the surface.
Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini is probably the most well-known name when you think about scuba diving. After all, the master escape artist performed a series of incredible escapes, including one from a box underwater! He also demonstrated how you can escape from a straitjacket or lock. He was immortalized in motion-pictures for his escape skills.
Mark V diving helmet
Mark V diving helmets have a long history in scuba diving. It was created for the US Navy and 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 tale of scubadiving is more than just an account of his adventures. He was also an explorer who took many dives to the sea for scientific research. He created a marine lab on Nonsuch Island in Bermudas and studied underwater life. He studied the behavior, then developed a diving helmet. 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 was held until 1949.