Biography

Jacques-Yves Cousteau, AC (11 June 1910 – 25 June 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, scientist, inventor, filmmaker, photographer, innovator, conservationist, author, and researcher who studied the sea and all forms of life in water. He co-invented the first successful open-circuit self-contained underwater breathing apparatus, ("SCUBA"), called the Aqua-Lung, which assisted him in producing some of the first underwater documentaries. He also pioneered marine conservation and was a member of the Académie française. From 1966 to 1976, he hosted The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, a documentary television series, presented on American commercial television stations. A second documentary series, The Cousteau Odyssey, ran from 1977 to 1982 on public television stations.