The beginning of scuba diving's history begins in 1930s when Jacques Cousteau (a French engineer) creates the first underwater movie. Simone and Cousteau loaded a black and blue still camera film into a camera to make the first underwater movie. 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. In 1943, the prototype units were tested by the Cousteau family.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Jacques-Yves Cousteau, a French native, was born in Marseilles. His childhood included snorkeling in warm waters near his home. After graduating from highschool he entered the navy. He served as a naval gunnery instructor, and later became a master diver. He became fascinated by the underwater world, and began to dive down to explore it. He also created an underwater camcorder.
Emile Gagnan
Emile Gagnan is behind many of today's innovations in SCUBA diving. Aqualung was created by Emile Gagnan in the 1950s. This breathing apparatus allows the diver to inhale underwater air. The Aqualung was invented to make scuba diving safer and more accessible for everyone.
Henry Fleuss
Henry Fleuss is an innovator in scubadiving history. He is known for inventing many other innovations. His designs were patented by Siebe, Gorman & Co. in 1878. He worked for many companies, including Siebe, Gorman & Co. It was revolutionary in that it allowed the diver work alone without the need for a pump or large crew.
Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini is the most common person you associate with scuba diving. The master escape artist was known for performing a number of amazing escapes, including one from a container 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 first diving helmet. However, there are other helmets dating back to the 1820s and 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 made numerous dives into the sea for scientific study. He built a marine laboratory on Nonsuch Island in the Bermudas and studied the underwater life there. He studied the behavior of sea creatures and developed a unique diving helmet and breathing apparatus. Beebe also became the first to dive into the deep ocean with a bathysphere. The device was capable of lowering a person down to 3,028ft (923m) below the surface. This record stood up until 1949.