Jacques Cousteau
Jacques Cousteau devoted much of his time to ocean exploration following World War II. He bought the Calypso, a minesweeper, and sailed it around all of the globe, even the Antarctic Circle. He conducted experiments and collected data that he used to develop the Calypso-Phot underwater camera and the SP-350 deep-sea two-man submarine.
Cousteau began his research with the creation of an apparatus for breathing called the aqualung. Although this apparatus was able to allow Cousteau to breathe in controlled air, it was only suited for shallow diving. Cousteau recognized that he needed to find the deepest parts of the oceans and a better way regulate air flow. The demand regulator was the result of his experiments. Air can only flow on demand. This invention would aid divers in increasing their air supply while avoiding decompression sickness.
Yves le Prieur
Yves le Prieur, scuba diving and Yves le Prieur go back to the 1900s. In 1946 he invented a fullface mask with a loose front plate that was a sort of diaphragm for the demand regulator. His next invention was the diving regulator.
1933 saw the invention of the first scuba diving device. This combination of the Fernez-Le-Prieur system for air supply and the demand regulator developed by Rouquayrol, Denayrouze, and Rouquayrol created the first scuba diving apparatus. This device changed the face of scuba diving by making underwater respirators affordable and more accessible. This was what led to recreational scuba.
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. His love of the sea and natural world led him to write about the Mediterranean. It is said that the book inspired Jacques Cousteau who would later go on and create modern scuba dive.
In the early 20th-century, the invention of modern scuba diving equipment began. Guy Gilpatric an American marine biologist invented a system that allowed divers access to air without the use or surface air. Later, Yves Le Prier invented a self-contained underwater breathing system. The scuba rig was quickly popularized by Owen Churchill after he sold it to him. Guy Gilpatric designed rubber goggles with lenses made from glass, swim fins, masks, snorkels, and face masks.
Yves Gagnan
Scuba divers used to depend on their helmets, diving bells, or air hoses from above at the beginning of this century. Yves Gagnan (Parisian engineer) helped them to create a demand valve system. The new device could provide compressed air on demand and adjust to the pressure in the water. This discovery allowed people from all walks of life to explore the oceans.
Gagnan was a French citizen, born in Burgundy, France in 1900. After graduating college, he began working for Air Liquide where he studied high-pressure pneumatic design. This eventually led to the design of the scuba equipment today.