JACQUES COUSTEAU: A REMARKABLE MAN

Jacques-Yves Cousteau was an explorer, ecologist, filmmaker, inventor and conservationist. He was a man, who spent nearly his whole life underwater exploring the hidden depths of the ocean and who did more to educate the world about the mysteries of the deep sea than any other scientist before or since. He was born in June, 1910 in the village of Saint-André-de-Cubzac, in south western France. Jacques was a sickly boy and spent much of his time in bed, reading books and dreaming about a life at sea. In 1220, Jacques' family moved to New York and he was encouraged to start swimming to build up his strength. This was the beginning of his fascination with water and the more he learnt through his own experiences, the more passionate he became about "looking through nature's keyhole". Nevertheless, his career in underwater exploration came about by accident. After entering France's naval academy and travelling around the world, he was involved in an almost fatal car accident that left him seriously injured with two broken arms. He began swimming in the Mediterranean Sea to strengthen his arm muscles as part of his recovery process and rediscovered his love of the ocean. Cousteau developed a pair of underwater breathing apparatus to allow him to stay underwater for long periods of time. His experiments led to the development of the first Aqua-Lung which was a great commercial success. During World War II, he worked for the French Resistance and experimented with underwater photographic equipment. He helped to get rid of German mines and was awarded the Legion D'Honneur and the Croix de Guerre medals for his bravery. In 1942, he filmed his first underwater film Sixty Feet Down. It was 18 minutes long and was entered in the Cannes Film Festival.