Jacques Cousteau
He was a French naval officer, explorer, conservationist, filmmaker,
innovator, scientist, photographer, author and researcher who studied the
sea and all forms of life in water. He co-developed the Aqua-lung,
pioneered marine conservation and was a member of the Académie
française.
Cousteau described his underwater world research in a series of
books, perhaps the most successful being his first book, The Silent World: A
Story of Undersea Discovery and Adventure, published in 1953. Cousteau
also directed films, most notably the documentary adaptation of the
book, The Silent World, which won a Palme d'or at the 1956 Cannes Film
Festival. He remained the only person to win a Palme d'Or for a documentary
film, until Michael Moore won the award in 2004 for Fahrenheit 9/11.
Cousteau was born on 11 June 1910, in Saint-André-de-
Cubzac, Gironde, France, to Daniel and Élisabeth Cousteau. He had one
brother, Pierre-Antoine. Cousteau completed his preparatory studies at
the Collège Stanislas in Paris. In 1930, he entered the École Navale and
graduated as a gunnery officer. After an automobile accident cut short his
career in naval aviation, Cousteau indulged his interest in the sea. The
accident caused him to break both his arms and could have even killed him.
This caused Cousteau to have to change his plans in becoming a naval pilot,
but it eventually worked out because of his passion for the ocean.[2]
In Toulon, where he was serving on the Condorcet, Cousteau carried
out his first underwater experiments, thanks to his friend Philippe
Tailliez who in 1936 lent him some Fernezunderwater goggles,
predecessors of modern swimming goggles.[1] Cousteau also belonged to
the information service of the French Navy, and was sent on missions to
Shanghai and Japan (1935–1938) and in the USSR (1939).
INVE NTION
Cousteau's legacy includes more than 120 television documentaries, more
than 50 books, and an environmental protection foundation with 300,000
members.[1]
Cousteau liked to call himself an "oceanographic technician." He was, in
reality, a sophisticated showman, teacher, and lover of nature. His work
permitted many people to explore the resources of the oceans.
His work also created a new kind of scientific communication, criticized at
the time by some academics. The so-called "divulgationism", a simple way
of sharing scientific concepts, was soon employed in other disciplines and
became one of the most important characteristics of modern television
broadcasting.
The Cousteau Society and its French counterpart, l'Équipe Cousteau, both
of which Jacques-Yves Cousteau founded, are still active today. The Society
is currently attempting to turn the original Calypso into a museum and it is
raising funds to build a successor vessel, the Calypso II.
In his last years, after marrying again, Cousteau became involved in a legal
battle with his son Jean-Michel over Jean-Michel licensing the Cousteau
name for a South Pacific resort, resulting in Jean-Michel Cousteau being
ordered by the court not to encourage confusion between his for-profit
business and his father's non-profit endeavours.
In 2007, the International Watch Company introduced the IWC Aquatimer
Chronograph "Cousteau Divers" Special Edition. The timepiece incorporated
a sliver of wood from the interior of Cousteau's Calypso research vessel.
Having developed the diver's watch, IWC offered support to The Cousteau
Society. The proceeds from the timepieces' sales were partially donated to
the non-profit organization involved in conservation of marine life and
preservation of tropical coral reefs
SAYINGS
“For most of history, man has had to fight nature to survive; in this century
he is beginning to realize that, in order to survive, he must protect it.”
“The Sea, once “When one man, for whatever reason, has the opportunity
to lead an extraordinary life, he has no right to keep it to himself” it casts its
spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.”
“Sometime we are lucky enough to know that our lives have been changed,
to discard the old, embrace the new, and run headlong down an immutable
course”
“The Sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.”
