Known
widely as the world's most famous undersea explorer, Jacques Yves Cousteau was
a very inventive child. By his early teens, he had already built a model crane,
a battery-operated automobile, and, due to his fascination with films, saved money
to buy a home movie camera. As a young sailor in the French Navy, he became a
diver and started his explorations underwater. One of his many contributions during
a long career with the Navy was perfection of the aqualung which allowed divers
to stay underwater for hours. In 1950, with the purchase of his famous ship the
Calypso, he began his extensive exploration of the Earth's oceans. These adventures
led to his writing many books and producing many films. Two of the films, The
Silent World (1956) and World Without Sun (1966), won Oscars for Best Documentary.
In 1974, Cousteau founded the Cousteau Society, dedicated to the preservation
of ocean life. He was awarded the U.S. Medal of Freedom in 1985 and was inducted
into the French Academy in 1989.
Bio
© Larry Auld
