Jacques Cousteau
Jacques Cousteau devoted much of his time to ocean exploration following World War II. He purchased the Calypso a minesweeper to sail around the globe, including the Antarctic Circle. He did experiments and collected data. These were used to design the Calypso-Phot underwater camera and SP-350 deep-sea two-man submarine.
Cousteau began to research the aqua lung, which is a new breathing apparatus. The aqua-lung allowed Cousteau to breath air in a controlled way, but it was restricted to shallow diving. Cousteau realized that there had to be a better way of controlling the flow of air to explore the depths of oceans. He developed the demand regulator through his experiments, which allowed air only to move according to demand. This invention was designed to help divers increase their air supply, and avoid decompression illness.
Yves le Prieur
Yves le Prieur, scuba diving and Yves le Prieur go back to the 1900s. 1946 saw the invention of a fullface face mask with a loose top plate. It was a kind of demand regulator diaphragm. The diving regulator was his next invention.
1933 was the year that the first scuba diver apparatus was invented. The Fernez-Le-Prieur Air Supply System was combined with the Denayrouze & Rouquayrol's demand regulator. It changed the world of scuba diving by making underwater breathing apparatuses affordable and easily accessible. This was the birth of recreational scuba.
Guy Gilpatric
Guy Gilpatric, a diver himself, has made many contributions to the history scuba diving. His articles in The Saturday Evening Post about scuba divers were among the first. He also wrote the first sport diving manual. His passion for the sea and its natural beauty led him explore the Mediterranean and to write about it. The book is credited with inspiring Jacques Cousteau, who would eventually go on to create modern scuba diving.
The invention of the modern scuba diving apparatus began in the early 20th century. Guy Gilpatric, an American marine biologist, patented a system that allows divers to breathe in air without using surface air. Later, Yves Le Prier developed an underwater breathing system. Owen Churchill bought the system, and the scuba-rig gained rapid popularity. 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
Scuba divers used to depend on their helmets, diving bells, or air hoses from above at the beginning of this century. Yves Gagnan was a Parisian engineer who helped develop a demand-valve system. This device supplied compressed air on request and was capable to adjust to the pressure within the water. This discovery enabled people of all levels to explore oceans.
Gagnan was born 1900 in Burgundy in France. After graduating from college, he took up employment with Air Liquide and studied high-pressure pneumatic design. This led to the creation of the scuba equipment we use today.