JACQUES COUSTEAU

1910-1997

Jacques Cousteau was a dashing chronicler of the life aquatic. Untrained as a scientist, the French adventurer and educator created books, films, TV series and contraptions that illuminated the ocean’s treasures. His marine infatuation began with a car accident that almost took his life – daily swimming in the Mediterranean Sea was prescribed to assist his rehabilitation. With a pair of goggles strapped on tight, his eyes were opened to the complexity of the underwater world. While in the French Navy in the 1940s, he co-invented a new diving apparatus, the Aqua-lung, which allowed divers to swim freely underwater for extended periods of time. He also had a hand in developing a waterproof camera that could withstand the high pressures of deep water, and in 1950, refurbished a former Royal Navy ship, Calypso, as a mobile base for deep-sea filmmaking, archaeological excavation and oceanographic research. Jacques’ first film – the Academy Award-winning documentary The Silent World – was criticised for environmental vandalism during production; as a result, his later work was much more ecologically conscious. It was American TV series The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau (running from 1966 to ’76) that cemented his romantic public image, though. Filmed aboard Calypso alongside his sons – and wearing his iconic red beanie – Jacques travelled the world, exploring shipwrecks and sea caves, and chronicling aquatic fish, mammals and birds. Over the years, he battled commercial whaling and inspired others to respect the ocean just as he did. Jacques passed away in Paris in 1998, well into his 80s, and was buried in his ancestral vault… on dry land.