Jacques Cousteau

Hello!
Today's post is about one of the most well-known figures in the world of oceanography, Jacques Yves-Cousteau: scientist, explorer, inventor, filmmaker, and photographer.

Cousteau's trademark was the ever-present
red hat that he wore.

Born in France on June 11, 1910, Cousteau was a sickly child. Growing up, he didn't do very well in school, but he was curious and loved inventing things. Later, his dream was to become a pilot, however, that career didn't last long. Cousteau was injured in a car accident, and was told he could not continue to fly planes during the war. As part of his rehabilitation process, Cousteau went swimming in the ocean. When he first dove underwater, his life was changed by the wonders that he saw. He once said that "the sea, once it has cast its spell, holds one in it's net of wonders forever." He loved being in the ocean, and watching all of the majestic and playful creatures that lived under the blue seas. Cousteau wanted to be able to swim like the fish he had seen, so he began working to invent the Aqua-Lung, Finished in 1943, the Aqua-Lung was a breathing apparatus used for scuba diving.
In 1945 Cousteau started the French Navy's undersea research group. Five years later he bought a boat, Calypso, to use for all of his ocean adventures. His first book, The Silent World, was written in 1953 to attract the public's attention and tell them how important it is to explore and conserve the ocean. His first movie came out only 3 years later.
Soon, Cousteau began to realize that the ocean was changing: fish populations were declining, the ocean was becoming polluted, and almost all of the changes were caused my humans. So, he kept exploring and discovering everything he could about the ocean and sharing the things he learned with the public, and raising awareness. In his lifetime, Cousteau helped put an end to commercial whaling, and, with the help of his sons, created the Cousteau Society.
Jacques Yves-Cousteau died on June 25th, 1997, at the age of 87. He lives on through the things he discovered, invented, created, and shared, as well as through The Cousteau Society, which works to continue Jacques' life mission: to understand and protect the wonders beneath the waves.

You can visit the Cousteau Society's website here.