Jacques Cousteau
Jacques Cousteau devoted much of his time to ocean exploration following World War II. He bought the Calypso, a minesweeper, and sailed it around all of the globe, even 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. This apparatus allowed Cousteau, although it could only be used for shallow dives, to control his airflow. In order to discover the depths of the oceans, Cousteau knew that he needed a better way to regulate the flow of air. After much experimentation, Cousteau developed the demand regulator. This allowed air to only move on demand. This invention would enable divers to extend their air supply and help them avoid decompression syndrome.
Yves le Prieur
Yves le Prieur's contributions to scubadiving date back to early 1900s. He invented the fullface mask, which had a loose frontplate and was used as a diaphragm to regulate demand. His next invention was the diving regulator.
The first scuba dive apparatus was patented in 1933. The Fernez-Le-Prieur air supply system was combined with the Denayrouze-Rouquayrol demand regulator. It revolutionized the world of scuba diving, making it affordable and easy to use underwater breathing devices. This was the birthplace recreational scuba.
Guy Gilpatric
Guy Gilpatric is a pioneer in scuba divership history. The first sport diving manual was written by him, and his articles for The Saturday Evening Post were among the first to cover scuba diving. His passion for the sea and its natural beauty led him explore the Mediterranean and to write about it. It is said that the book inspired Jacques Cousteau who would later go on and create modern scuba dive.
In the early 20th-century, the invention of modern scuba diving equipment began. Guy Gilpatric (an American marine biologist) invented a system which allowed divers to breath air without having to use surface air. Later, Yves Le Prier invented a self-contained underwater breathing system. Owen Churchill bought the system, and the scuba-rig gained rapid popularity. Guy Gilpatric designed rubber goggles with lenses made from glass, swim fins, masks, snorkels, and face masks.
Yves Gagnan
At the start of the century, divers relied on diving bells and helmets to get their air from the surface. Yves Gagnan, a Parisian engineer, helped to design a demand valve. 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 in Burgundy, France, in 1900. After graduating college, he began working for Air Liquide where he studied high-pressure pneumatic design. This eventually led to the design of the scuba equipment today.