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Jacques-Yves Cousteau Biography

Oceanographer

Jacques Cousteau was the most famous undersea explorer in the world, known by his dozens of books and films from the 1950s until his death in 1997. The co-inventor of the aqualung (an underwater breathing apparatus) in 1943, Cousteau also pioneered techniques in underwater photography and explored the oceans of the world aboard his vessel Calypso. His filmmaking career included three Oscars, frequent television specials and the series, The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau (1966). In his later years Cousteau devoted himself to educating the public on environmental issues, and working with the Cousteau Foundation, founded in 1973 to further marine research and exploration.

Extra credit: American singer John Denver paid tribute to Cousteau in his 1975 song "Calypso"... Cousteau is unrelated to fictional detective Jacques Clouseau... Cousteau won an Oscar as producer of the 1959 short film Histoire d'un Poisson Rouge (Story of a Red Fish).

Other well-known naturalists of the same era: Joy Adamson of Born Free, chimp expert Jane Goodall and Silent Spring author Rachel Carson.