Jacques-Yves - a famous oceanographer, photographer, inventor (including the first scuba), a technician. In addition, this person is the author of many films and books. We will talk about what Jacques-Yves Cousteau is famous for today.
Origin, childhood
The future explorer of the ocean was born on June 11, 1910 in France (Saint-Andre-de-Kubzak). Father Jacques-Yves was a lawyer. In his youth, Cousteau made many trips and from early childhood learned to swim. However, due to the disease, he lost a lot of weight, so the doctor did not recommend the boy great physical exertion.
The Cousteau family lived and worked in the United States from 1920 to 1922. Here Jacques-Yves learned English. These years of life were very intense for Cousteau. Jacques-Yves Cousteau showed great interest in design and mechanics. In the summer scout camp, the future inventor made his first dives. Returning to France, he acquired the first movie camera and also designed a battery-powered car.
Studying at the academy, traveling
The early 1930s included the training of Jacques-Yves at the French Naval Academy. He was lucky as his group went on a world tour on the ship "Joan of Arc." After some time, according to the distribution, Jacques-Yves Cousteau ended up in Shanghai, at a naval base. A couple of years later he also visited the USSR. In the Soviet Union, Jacques-Yves photographed a lot, but almost all of the pictures were taken from him.
Accident, work as an instructor, marriage
Cousteau in his youth wanted to become a pilot after completing his studies at the Academy of Maritime Aviation. However, he got into a serious car accident and received many injuries, because of which he had to give up this dream. Simone Melkior, Jacques-Yves favorite girlfriend, helped him survive. In 1936, in order to rehabilitate, Cousteau began working on the cruiser "Sufren" as an instructor. Here, in the port of Toulon, for the first time in his life, he explored the sea with special glasses for scuba diving. Jacques-Yves realized that this was his destiny.
Cousteau in 1937 married Simone Melkior (pictured above). They had sons Philip and Jean-Michel.
Diving with a mask, the foundation of a film company and the first films
Together with Philippe Thaye and Frederic Dumas in 1938, Cousteau plunged into the water with a snorkel, mask and fins. He later wrote about the first masked ocean explorations that revealed a “spectacular sight” to his eyes.
Jacques-Yves in the early 1940s became the founder of a film company called "Shark Association". In 1942, Cousteau's 18-minute film "8 meters under water" appeared. He became one of the first paintings of Jacques-Yves about the underwater world. Cousteau participated in the resistance movement in France during World War II.
Inventions of Jacques Yves Cousteau
Speaking of what Jacques-Yves Cousteau is famous for, one cannot but tell about the multitude of his inventions. The most famous of them is the creation of scuba gear. In 1943, the first prototype was tested. And it was successful. This model was developed by Jacques-Yves in collaboration with Emil Ganyan. In 1946, the mass production of scuba gear began. Jacques-Yves Cousteau also created lighting equipment, waterproof cameras, an underwater television system, and the SP350 (a “diving saucer”), a small submarine with good maneuverability. It was intended for the scientific study of the depths of the ocean. On behalf of the French Navy, immediately after the war ended, Cousteau founded a school of scuba divers. Later, he became the head of the French Center for Underwater Research, Jacques-Yves Cousteau.
"Calypso"
In the early 1950s, it was this ship, a minesweeper, which had previously belonged to the British Royal Navy, but was decommissioned, as the marine "base" of Jacques-Yves. Cousteau converted it into a mobile laboratory. After that, Jacques-Yves Cousteau began to carry out research on it in the ocean. The discoveries made by him on this ship are numerous. One of the first achievements made at Calypso was a photograph of the seabed, performed at depths of up to 7.2 km. Jacques-Yves on expeditions was often accompanied by his wife. And his sons, Philip and Jacques-Michel, worked as young people.
The first book, new films and world fame
By the early 1950s, Jacques-Yves Cousteau had already accumulated considerable experience in the study of the ocean. His research was to be made public. To do this, Cousteau, together with Frederic Dumas in 1953, wrote a book entitled "In the world of silence." In it, for the first time, the world of the ocean was presented to readers, the study of which Jacques-Yves Cousteau devoted many years to his life. Filmed based on this book, the film, released in 1956, won the Golden Palm Branch and Oscar. He immediately brought world fame to its authors. Cousteau in 1954 made a trip across the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. The result of this expedition was a series known to many of us - "Cousteau's Odyssey." That is what Jacques-Yves Cousteau is famous all over the world. The explorer of the underwater world in 1957 became the director of the Oceanographic Museum located in Monaco.
Underwater Homes and Cousteau Society
The development of Underwater Homes, an ambitious project by this researcher, dates back to the 1960s. Its implementation was the 1963 Precontinent II operation and the 1965 Precontinent III operation.
But we have not yet told all about what Jacques-Yves Cousteau is famous for. This researcher was a prominent public figure. Jacques-Yves in 1973 created the non-profit organization Cousteau Society, whose goal is to protect the marine environment.
The researcher carried out his expeditions, studying unknown zones of the oceans. Jacques-Yves designed new types of ships that are environmentally friendly. His "Fleet" in 1985 was replenished with the ALCYONE yacht, which moves thanks to the electric wind system. In 1979, during the filming of the next film, the youngest son of Jacques-Yves, Philip, died.
Cousteau Foundation, expedition to the Antarctic, marriage to Triplet
In 1981, the Cousteau Foundation was established in Paris. After 9 years, the researcher went on an expedition to Antarctica. He took six children with him (one representative from each of the continents) so that the whole world could see that the nature of Antarctica should be preserved for the younger generation.
In 1990, Simone, Cousteau's wife, died of cancer. A year after her death, Jacques-Yves married a second time. His wife was Francine Triplet. This woman, even before marriage, gave birth to his son Pierre and daughter Diana.
Calypso-2
The Calypso sank in 1996 as a result of a collision with a barge. This happened at the port of Singapore. The ship was not recoverable. After a while, it was exhibited in the museum of the city of La Rochelle. After its breakdown, the construction of the Calypso-2 Jacques-Yves Cousteau began. His biography is marked by many sea expeditions made together with the crew aboard this ship.
Death
The researcher died at the age of 87, on June 25, 1997. Death occurred after a respiratory illness that occurred with complications. Jacques-Yves died of myocardial infarction. This happened in Bordeaux (France). He was buried in the cemetery of Saint-Andre-de-Kubzak.
Jacques-Yves was given many different awards for his research. Among them, the Legion of Honor, which received Jacques-Yves Cousteau, was especially valuable. The books of his authorship, which are considered the most famous, are as follows: Living Sea, Life and Death of Corals, In the World of Silence, Sunken Treasures, World without the Sun, etc.
