Jacques-Yves Cousteau is perhaps the most well-known person in the oceanographic field.    His  invention  of the  Aqua Lung  made  it  possible  for  humans  to  explore beneath  the ocean's  surface  both  recreationally  and  professionally.   He was one of the first environmentalists,  using his numerous  films to educate others about the oceans  and our  impact upon  them.   He founded  The Cousteau Society  in 1973 to fight for environmental causes and was a champion of the world's oceans all his life.

Jacques-Yves Cousteau was born in France in 1910.   As a child he was interested in engineering and design.   He bought his first movie camera at the age of 13 just after this new invention came on the market in France.  At 16 he started making his own films.  During his stint in the French navy he travelled to many places, filming everything as he went.   He loved the ocean,  and he swam and fished most of his life.   While in the navy he swam often with his comrades, using aviation goggles to help him see in the water.

In the early 1940s he combined his love of the water with his love of engineering (see Interdisciplinary Approach).  He created the Aqua Lung, the forerunner of today's scuba diving equipment.  At this same time he made a housing for his  camera that allowed  him to take it underwater.   He made two short  films which  won prizes at the Cannes Film Festival.

After World War II Cousteau worked with others (while still in the military) to remove mines from the waters near France.   Using his Aqua Lung,   this group of divers  experimented with breathing  mixtures and diving at different depths.  The team was called the Undersea Research Group, and Cousteau was its leader until 1956.
 
 

In 1950 Cousteau  had  donated to  him the Calypso, a former  minesweeper from Malta. This ship was to be used to pursue his oceanic research. It was also in early 1950 that Cousteau was introduced to America, and four of his films were bought by  Universal  Pictures.  Late in 1951 the Calypso had been refurbished for her new duties, and the first of more than 50 voyages began.

Cousteau wrote a book entitled The Silent World about these first explorations of the Red Sea.   It described the adventures his team had experienced while scuba diving,  thereby introducing the sport to Americans.   By 1960 more than one million Americans had taken up the sport. Cousteau received donations to continue his work. After many more voyages and much more filming, he made the film The Silent World in 1956.  Color was just beginning to be used in film,  and this effect was dramatic in his work.   In the mid-1960s Cousteau did a series of one-hour shows for ABC entitled "The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau".  This series was watched by millions.

The world lost a premier environmentalist when Jacques-Yves Cousteau died in 1997.