Jacques-Yves Cousteau

Jacques-Yves Cousteau (11 June 1910 – 25 June 1997) was a French naval officer, explorer, ecologist, filmmaker, scientist, photographer and researcher who studied the sea and all forms of life in water. He co-developed the aqua-lung, pioneered marine conservation and was a member of the Académie française.

He is generally known in France as le commandant Cousteau ("Commander Cousteau"). Worldwide, he was commonly known as Jacques Cousteau or Captain Cousteau.

Founder of the French Navy's Undersea Research Group in 1946, Cousteau became commander of the research ship Calypso (a converted minesweeper) in 1950 and most of his epoch-making films were subsequently made with this vessel as his base of operations (he made a total of some 30 voyages in all). Cousteau's early films were made for the cinema and he earned Oscars for The Silent World, The Golden Fish and World Without Sun, as well as other top awards, such as the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Later documentaries were made for television, and such series as Under the Sea, The World About Us and The Cousteau Odyssey consistently attracted large audiences when shown in the United Kingdom. The World of Jacques Cousteau, first broadcast in 1966, proved internationally successful, running for some eight years (retitled The Undersea World of Jacques-Yves Cousteau) and drawing fascinated audiences of millions all around the globe. When this series ended in 1976 he concentrated on one-off specials on selected subjects (titles including Oasis in Space, The Cousteau Amazon and Cousteau Mississippi).

Cousteau Father and Son : a thought-inspiring sequence arranged by Pierre-Yves Cousteau, based on quotes from his father the Captain Cousteau

The appeal of Cousteau's films was not limited to the subject matter, for Cousteau's narrative, delivered in his distinctive French accent, was part of the character of his work. His narration was occasionally humorous and tended to personalize the species under discussion, with fish being described as "cheeky" or "courageous". The inclusion of members of his family, his wife Simone and his two sons (one of whom later died) in his films also added a humanizing touch. Such an approach did much to rouse awareness of the richness of life beneath the waves and underlined the responsibility mankind had towards other species.

John Denver wrote a 1975 hit song "Calypso" as a tribute to Calypso and her crew.The song reached the number-one position on the Billboard 100 charts.

In his later years, Cousteau was nicknamed ''Captain Planet'' for his devotion to awakening the public to environmental issues, and working with The Cousteu Society, which he founded in 1974 to further marine exploration and education. Jacques-Yves Cousteau was a man prized by a whole generation as an ecologist, conservationist, and protector of the Earth's oceans.

CAPT. JACQUES-YVES COUSTEAU Awarded Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan 

May 23, 1985 

For decades, Captain Jacques-Yves Cousteau has been a celebrated undersea explorer. His journeys aboard the Calypso have become known to millions through his books and films. His manned, undersea colonies yielded wealths of research and data and made important technical advances. His auqualung has made underwater diving available to all. Captain Cousteau perhaps has done more than any other individual to reveal the mysteries of the oceans that cover more than two-thirds of the surface of our planet. It is, therefore, likely that he will be remembered not only as a pioneer in his time but as a dominant figure in world history.

• Born in Saint-Andre-de-Cubzac, Gironde department, France, 11 June 1910. 

• Educated at Stanislas Academy in Paris, Bachelier, 1930; Ecole Navale in Brest, France, France's naval academy, 193. 

• Married Simone Melchior, 1937 (died, 1990), children: Diane, Elizabeth, Pierre-Yves Daniel, Phillipe (died, 1979) 

• Served in the French Navy, entering as a second lieutenant, 1933; assigned to the naval base at Toulon; served as a gunnery officer, 1939-40; active in the French underground resistance; founded and became head of the French navy's Undersea Research Group, 1946; resigned from French Navy, 1956. 

• Co-invented the first Aqua-Lung, 1942-43 

• set a world's free-diving record, 1947

• Founded and became president of the Campagnes Oceanographiques Francaises, 1950, and the Centre d'Etudes Marines Acancees, 1952 

• as scientific leader, conducted field expeditions aboard his oceanographic research vessel named Calypso, 1951-1996, Calypso II since 1996 

• director of the Oceanographic Institute and Museum in Monaco, 1957-88 

• promoted the Conshelf Saturation Dive Program, 1962

• general secretary of the International Commission for the Scientific Exploration of the Mediterranean (I.C.S.E.M.), 1966 

• inventor of turbosail system, 1985. 

• Member: National Academy of Sciences; Academie Francaise. 

• Recipient: Academy Awards, 1957, 1959

• Cannes Film Festival, Gold Palm Award, 1959

• Potts Medal of the Franklin Institute, 1970

• Presidential Medal of Freedom, 1985

• inducted into the Television Hall of Fame, 1987 

• National Geographic Society's Centennial Award, 1988 

• Several Emmys

• The Legion of Honor

TELEVISION SERIES

1966-68 The World of Jaques-Yves Cousteau
1968-76 The Undersea World of Jaques-Yves Cousteau 1977 Oasis in Space
1977-81 The Cousteau Odyssey Series
1982-84 The Cousteau/Amazon Series
1985-91 Cousteau's Rediscovery of the World I
1992-94 Rediscovery of the World II

TELEVISION SPECIALS (selection)

The Tragedy of the Red Salmon
The Desert Whales Lagoon of Lost Ships Dragons of Galapagos Secrets of the Sunken Caves
The Unsinkable Sea Otter
A Sound of Sea Dolphins
South to Fire and Ice
The Flight of Penguins
Beneath the Frozen World
Blizzard of Hope Bay
Life at the End of the World
Jacques Yves Cousteau's Calypso's Legend Lilliput Conquers America
Outrage at Valdez

FILM (selection)

The Silent World, 1956; The Golden Fish, 1959; The World Without Sun, 1965

PUBLICATIONS (selection)

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 Phillipe Cousteau). Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1970.

Jacques Cousteau's Amazon Journey (with Mose Richards). New York: H.N. Abrams, 1984.

The Cousteau Society is an organization that serves to raise funds for ocean exploration, research, and conservation. Jacques Cousteau founded the Society in the U.S. in 1973. With offices in Hampton, Virginia and Paris, this organization is responsible for raising funds for environmental research around the globe. With two ships Calypso and Alcyone, the group visits places around the world and documents what they find as well as try to influence environmental politics to "improve the quality of life on the Water Planet.

http://www.cousteau.org

http://www.oceanfutures.org

Credit: Medal of Freedom Organization, The Cousteau Society, NOAA