Jacques Cousteau's Accomplishments

Webster’s dictionary defines honor as “respect that is given to someone who is admired.” Jacques Cousteau was born in a village in the southwest of France on June 11th, 1910. As a child, Cousteau had a strong curiosity of water and mechanical objects. He graduated from College Stanislas in Paris and in 1930 he entered the French Naval Academy. In 1933 he broke both of his arms in a car accident and nearly died. He began swimming in the medditeranean as rehibilitation. He was given a pair of swimming goggles and his interest in marine life became stronger. In 1943 he met Emile Gagnan who shared his passion. They experimented with swim gear. In 1943 they invented the Aqua Lung which allowed divers to stay underwater for long periods of time.
In 1948 he undertook an underwater expedition in the mediteranean to find the wreckage of a Roman ship, Mahdia. This was the first actual marine archaelogical expedition, which is a pretty huge deal.

He was constantly creating and experimenting, which cause financial troubles for him and his family. He decided to use media to reach out to people and share his explorations. He became an important part of film history with his underwater documentaries. In 1953, he published the book the silent world which was later made into a film.This success allowed him topay for another expedition to the red ssea and Indian Ocean. In 1966 his first television special aired, “The world of jacques-yves cousteau.” In 1968 he aired another series, “The undersea world of jacques yves cousteau” which ran for 9 seasons. Millions followed Cousteau and his crew on their expeditions.

It was around this time that Cousteau started to notice the adverse effects of human activity on the oceans. With his increased fame he was able tp found the Cousteau society in 1973, with the hopes of raising awareness of the marine ecosystems. The organization quickly grew and coined 30,000