Jacques Cousteau
Jacques Cousteau devoted his life to ocean exploration after World War II. He purchased a minesweeper called the Calypso and sailed it around the world, including the Antarctic Circle. He performed experiments and collected data which he used to create the Calypso-Phot underwater camera and the SP-350 deep-sea, two-man submarine.
Cousteau began research by inventing the aqua-lung, a new breathing system. The aqua-lung allowed Cousteau to breath air in a controlled way, but it was restricted to shallow diving. Cousteau discovered that there was a better way for air to flow to help him explore the depths. He developed the demand regulator through his experiments, which allowed air only to move according to demand. This invention would help divers extend their air supply and avoid decompression sickness.
Yves le Prieur
Yves le Prieur's contributions to scubadiving date back to early 1900s. 1946 saw the invention of a fullface face mask with a loose top plate. It was a kind of demand regulator diaphragm. His next invention, the diving regulator.
1933 saw the invention of the first scuba diving device. This device combined the Fernez-Le-Prieur air supply system with the demand regulator invented by Denayrouze and Rouquayrol. This device revolutionized the diving industry by making underwater breathing equipment affordable and accessible. This was the birthplace of recreational scuba diving.
Guy Gilpatric
Guy Gilpatric contributed a lot to the history and evolution of scuba diving throughout his life. He wrote the first manual for sport diving, and his articles in The Saturday Evening Post were amongst the first to discuss scuba diving. He was fascinated by the sea and the natural world and decided to travel the Mediterranean to write about it. It is said that the book inspired Jacques Cousteau who would later go on and create modern scuba dive.
The modern scuba dive apparatus was invented in the 20th century. In 1921, American marine biologist Guy Gilpatric patented a system that allowed divers to breathe air without the use of surface air. Later, Yves Le Prier created an underwater breathing system that was self-contained. Owen Churchill purchased the system and the scuba gear quickly became popular. Guy Gilpatric later developed rubber goggles featuring glass lenses, face masks and snorkels as well as swim fins and a high pressure air tank.
Yves Gagnan
In the beginning of the century, scuba divers had to rely on helmets, diving bells, and air hoses from the surface. Yves Gagnan (Parisian engineer) helped them to create a demand valve system. This device supplied compressed air on request and was capable to adjust to the pressure within the water. This invention made it possible to explore the oceans with people at all levels.
Gagnan was born in Burgundy, France, in 1900. After graduating from college, Gagnan began work at Air Liquide. He studied high pressure pneumatic design. This eventually led to the design of the scuba equipment today.