What day is it?

Every year on June 11, the whole world celebrates Jacques-Yves Cousteau Day. This name is known to everyone who was at least a little interested in the underwater world. A great traveler, connoisseur of nature and conqueror of the ocean, he is known to many not only for his achievements in the field of oceanography. He distinguished himself as a great director, photographer, author of television programs, films and books about the underwater world. The date of June 11 was not chosen by chance, because this outstanding scientist and inventor was born on this day in 1910.

How did the idea of ​​celebrating Jacques-Yves Cousteau Day come about?

On June 11, 2010, the world celebrated the 100th anniversary of his birth Jacques-Yves Cousteau. It is difficult to find a person who would not admire the tape about “Cousteau’s Underwater Odyssey” or watch a program about the boundless mysteries of the ocean. We remember the shots with this thin and mobile man.

Hundreds of thousands of people continue to admire the cinematic works of the outstanding explorer of the underwater depths, and humanity continues to use his inventions. Jacques-Yves Cousteau Day is not just an occasion to celebrate the birthday of a great man who made an extraordinary contribution to the knowledge of our planet, but also to once again pay attention to his important achievements.

Biography

The future researcher, cinematographer and inventor was born in the family of a lawyer and a housewife in a small French town called Saint-Andre-de-Cubzac. Later, the family moved to Paris and traveled a lot around the world. As a child, Jacques-Yves was diagnosed with an incurable intestinal disease, due to which he was always thin. Later, the young man graduated from the Naval Academy and dreamed of serving in naval aviation. But due to a serious accident, the boy suffered a lot: fractures on both arms, serious damage to the spine, paralysis of the lower limbs – these are only the main injuries. However, young Cousteau did not give up, he began independent rehabilitation during which he swam for hours in the Mediterranean Sea. It was during this period that he invented the first underwater goggles.

The subject of scuba diving fascinated Jacques-Yves Cousteau, and later he plunged headlong not only into the water, but also into experiments in the manufacture of underwater equipment. And in 1943, the first scuba tank appeared, which allows you to stay at a depth of up to 50 m for a long time. Later, this invention will greatly help Cousteau in researching the depths of the world’s oceans.

At the age of 87, Cousteau suffered a myocardial infarction from which he died. In 2009, an island in the Sea of ​​Cortez was named after him.

Books

During the period of its activity Jacques-Yves Cousteau wrote about 10 books devoted to the problems of the underwater world. The most popular of them are “Living Sea”, “Coral Life”, “Dolphins”, “Ocean World”, etc. All his works are imbued with great love for the sea, ocean and underwater inhabitants. In his book called “In the world of silence” he talks about his discoveries and incredible secrets of the blue abyss. The work, written in co-authorship with his son Philip Cousteau, will introduce you to little-known, unexplored areas of the Pacific and Indian oceans, and will tell you about the peculiarities of shark life.

Filmography

Jacques-Yves Cousteau’s books gave him worldwide fame, and his films made him and his research even more famous among the general population of the Earth. Thus, the documentary film based on the book “In the world of silence” won the Cannes Film Festival and won the Palme d’Or. And Hollywood awarded the author an “Oscar” for such a thorough and dedicated research work presented to a wide audience.

But the work “Underwater Odyssey of the Cousteau team” is the most memorable. This is a multi-series film that was shown on television in many countries of the world for 20 years. In 1975, Cousteau was recognized as “Man of the Year” by the number of awards in the field of cinematography.

Inventions of Jacques-Yves Cousteau

• The first invention of Jacques-Yves Cousteau was steel goggles for diving. He made them for himself when he kept getting water in his eyes while diving.
• Aqualung. The inventor created his first sketch of a device for breathing under water called “Underwater Lungs” on an ordinary napkin. The first products were unsuccessful, until in 1943, together with engineer E. Gagnan, Jacques-Yves Cousteau created an improved device, which was called a scuba diver.
• A camera for filming under water. Since the French inventor wanted not just to spend time underwater, but wanted to introduce people to the wonders that the underwater space opened before him, he set himself the goal of creating a special video camera. In addition to the camera, he invented underwater cameras, lamps, etc.
• Underwater television – this is a whole list of devices that made it possible to conduct high-quality television filming under water. As a result, a whole system consisting of land and underwater parts was created. This equipment allowed Cousteau’s team to film at a depth of more than 7 kilometers.
• “Swimming plate” – a device in the form of a small autonomous bathyscaphe, which could accommodate 2 people.
• Underwater house was created by Jacques-Yves Cousteau in 1962 as part of the Precontinent 1 project. To create such a dwelling, a metal tank was used, which was installed at a depth of 10 m. In such a settlement, 2 people lived successfully for 7 days. To date, 3 similar settlements have been established, one of which is located at a depth of 100 m.

Research

Being a great researcher of the sea and ocean depths, the director of one of the largest Oceanographic museums, the founder of the organization for the protection of the underwater environment, Jacques-Yves Cousteau devoted his whole life to the underwater world. As part of research projects, he conducted research in the open ocean and filmed underwater. For this purpose, a special laboratory was created on the leased ship “Calypso”.

Since 1943, after the invention of scuba diving, long-term underwater research has begun, which greatly expanded mankind’s knowledge of the oceanic underwater world.

In 1955, Cousteau’s team found a sunken ship destroyed by German bombers during World War II.

How to celebrate Jacques-Yves Cousteau Day?

On this day, each of us has a great opportunity to learn more about this great French researcher, inventor and cinematographer by reading his books and watching his films. Thanks to his persistent and tireless work, we are able to observe extraordinary journeys to the depths of the sea, get to know new species of inhabitants of the sea and ocean floor. Is it necessary to say that further filming under water became available only thanks to Cousteau’s inventions. And this means that through the TV screen we can watch amazing scenes of life in the underwater world.

If you want to celebrate Jacques-Yves Cousteau Day in the best possible way, gather your family in front of the TV screen to watch Cousteau’s Underwater Odyssey, The Living Sea or In the World of Silence.

When will we celebrate Jacques-Yves Cousteau Day?