:Jacques Cousteau: Inventions, films, books

Throughout his career, Jacques-Yves Cousteau proved himself to be a Renaissance man, talented and successful in a wide variety of endeavors. Listed below is a small selection of the inventions, books and films he created in collaboration with other innovators.

• 1943:

  The Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus, the SCUBA or Aqualung, with Emile Gagnan.

• 1948:

  With the French Navy:

  1. Ultrasonic device to position submersibles with ultrasonic emission device used with the first Piccard bathyscape.
  2. First underwater scooter or propulsion system for combat divers.

• 1949:

  First decompression chamber for simulated dives to 300 meters.

• 1952:

  Development of first industrial equipment for undersea television with engineer André Laban.

• 1955:

  Construction of first underwater 35mm camera, predecessor of the Nikonos underwater camera.

• 1959:

  1. Completion and operation of first two-man submersible, the SP-350 or diving saucer, to 350 meters.
  2. First underwater photographic sled, the Troika, with Dr. Harold Edgerton.

• 1962:

  Conshelf I research habitat houses two men for 10 days at 25 meters.

• 1963:

  Conshelf II with two habitats: one houses 6 men for one month at 10 meters, working at 25 meters; the other houses 2 men for one week at 25 meters, working at 70 meters.

• 1965:

  1. Conshelf III with 6 men living for 27 days at 100 meters.
  2. Construction of two one-man diving saucers, the SP-500, Sea Fleas.

• 1967:

  First integrated 16mm underwater camera.

• 1984:

  Launching of Alcyone, an experimental ship using innovative wind turbines in conjunction with conventional engines, with André Mauric.

• The Silent World

  (with Louis Malle and James Dugan). 1956. Academy Award for Documentary Feature.

• World Without Sun

  (with James Dugan). New York: Harper and Row, 1964. Academy Award for Documentary Feature.

• Voyage to the Edge of the World

  (with Philippe Cousteau). 1975.

• 1966-68:

  The World of Jacques-Yves Cousteau

• 1968-76:

  The Undersea World of Jacques-Yves Cousteau
  37 X 49 minute episodes
  

• 1977:

  Oasis in Space
  6 X 29 minute episodes
  

• 1977-81:

  The Cousteau Odyssey Series
  12 X 56 minute episodes
  

• 1982-84:

  The Cousteau/Amazon Series

• 1985-91:

  Cousteau's Rediscovery of the World I

• 1992-94:

  Rediscovery of the World II

• The Silent World

  (with Frederic Dumas). New York: Harper, 1952.

• The Living Sea

  (with James Dugan). New York: Harper and Row, 1963.

• World Without Sun

  (James Dugan, editor). New York: Harper and Row, 1965.

• The Shark: Splendid Savage of the Sea

  (with Philippe Cousteau). Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1970.

• Jacques Cousteau's Amazon Journey

  (with Mose Richards). New York: H.N. Abrams, 1984.

• The Human, the Orchid and the Octopus

  (with Susan Schiefelbein), New York: Bloomsbury, 2007.

Photo: Courtesy Tim Trabon