Jacques Cousteau Facts – All About His Biography and Inventions

Jacques-Yves Cousteau was born to Daniel and Élisabeth Cousteau on 11th June 1910 in Saint-André-de-Cubzac, France. Cousteau attended his two years of prépa (preparatory courses) at Collège Stanislas in Paris. Afterwards, he graduated from École Navale as a gunnery officer. He couldn’t pursue a career in naval aviation because of an automobile accident where he broke both his arms. Then, he started focussing on his passion for oceans and exploration.

Jacques Cousteau Inventions

Below are some of the greatest inventions of Jacques Cousteau:

1. Aqua Lung – This was one of the world’s first underwater breathing apparatus. Jacques Cousteau, in collaboration with Émile Gagnan invented the Aqua Lung in 1943. The main reason behind the success of this underwater breathing apparatus was that it was open circuit and self-contained. This means that the diver has complete control over oxygen flow in the tank. Today, this type of underwater breathing apparatus is called a demand valve or a diving regulator. Aqua Lung was one of the greatest Jacques Cousteau inventions.
2. Diving Saucer – This was a small submarine invented by Jacques Cousteau and Jean Mollard in 1959. Also known as SP-350 Denise, it was capable of accommodating only two people. It was an important part of the famous research vessel, Calypso. The two-manned submarine was designed to explore underwater depths of up to 400 meters. However, it was never used for depths higher than 300 meters due to safety concerns. It was used to explore the wreckage of HMHS Britannic.
3. Shark Cages – This was a cage where explorers could go for underwater dives. The cage would protect the explorers from Sharks and other underwater predators. Jacques Cousteau was also a pioneer in the field of Cage Diving as well.
4. Calypso Photo Camera – This camera was one of the first tools used for taking photographs underwater. Before this camera, underwater photography was carried out through regular cameras (with films) in underwater cases. Due to this, underwater photography was a time taking process and yielded bad-quality pictures. Named after the renowned exploring vessel, Calypso was the first self-contained camera used for underwater pictures.

Cousteau invented and collaborated on many other inventions like underwater scooters, unique wind turbines for his expedition ship, equipment for undersea television, etc.

 Jacques Cousteau Biography

A great fact about Jacques Cousteau was that he contributed an important role in lots of other projects like documentaries, books, etc.

1. Jacques Cousteau and Frédéric Dumas wrote a book known as ‘The Silent World’ to raise money to buy equipment for their underwater expeditions. In this book, they talked about their pioneering experience in Scuba Diving. This book was a great success and sold more than 5 million copies. In this book, Cousteau suggested that the whales can navigate through echolocation. 
2. After the success of his book, Cousteau released his first documentary with the same name as his book, The Silent World. This documentary was also an instant hit and won the Academy Award for the Best Documentary in 1957. The movie changed people’s perception of life underwater.
3. Cousteau released a new documentary called ‘The Golden Fish’, which won another Academy Award for Short Film.
4. Cousteau had an idea to construct manned bases at the bottom of the sea, similar to manned bases in space. Since Oil companies partly funded the bases, he scrapped the idea because he wanted to work for the conservation of the sea and not for oil exploration. His documentary on the same idea of underwater bases, known as ‘World without Sun’, also won an Academy Award for best documentary in 1965.
5. Cousteau’s best-known work was the TV documentary series called The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau. He produced it from 1968 to 76, and it ran for eight seasons. Jacques Cousteau himself did the narration for this series in English. The TV documentary series showcased the explorations carried out by Cousteau and his crew onboard his famous expedition ship Calypso.

Facts About Jacques Cousteau

Here are lesser-known facts about Jacques Cousteau:

1. Cousteau was awarded the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan in 1985.
2. Cousteau always wanted to become a naval pilot. But his career in naval aviation was short-lived due to an automobile accident in which both his arms were broken.
3. Cousteau also served in the intelligence department of the French Navy. He was sent on spy missions to USSR, Shanghai, Japan, etc.
4. Cousteau already had children from Diane Cousteau (second wife) while he was married to Simone Melchior (first wife).
5. While on an expedition in Cuba, Cousteau invited communist leader Fidel Castro to join him for dinner on board Calypso. Another great fact about Jacques Cousteau is that he also convinced Castro to release 80 political prisoners.
6. Cousteau leased the ship, Calypso, for token money of one franc per year. He transformed the ship into a research vessel. 
7. In his interview with Time Magazine, Cousteau predicted that humans would have gills surgically attached to them so they could live underwater.
8. During the filming of the Silent World, a lot of marine animals were killed, including baby whales and sharks.

Conclusion

Jacques-Yves Cousteau died on 25 June 1997 due to a heart attack. The accomplishments listed above are just some of his well-known creations. His legacy includes more than 50 books, 120 TV documentaries, and an environmental protection foundation with more than 300,000 members.