Younger generations may not remember French filmmaker Jacques-Yves Cousteau (1910-1997). But he was and is, until today, a myth of the exploration of the seas and the defense of the Environment. Cousteau, with his famous red cap and his ship Calypso, helped spark interest in oceanographic research and the protection of marine life. But the legendary Frenchman has a very rich history, which includes improving new diving equipment, producing several films and even winning three Oscars.
He is such a remembered personality in France that, at Marseille Carnival, it is occasionally possible to see people dressed as the explorer. But the life of the great Frenchman is also worthy of admiration, as, in addition to these facts, he fought for the environment in the mid-twentieth century, long before society began to take an interest in this topic.
O awesome.club studied with great pleasure the history of the man who forever changed the way humanity sees life in the oceans and shares with you some curious facts about its rich history.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau’s submarine outside the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco
When Cousteau and his brother were young, their father went to work in the United States and the family moved there. The brothers entered a local school and learned to speak English fluently. Cousteau dreamed of becoming a pilot, but had to put that dream aside after a car accident in which he broke both his hands. In his youth, he built an electric car completely by himself. During World War II, he was part of the French resistance against German invaders, helped his country’s fleet unite with the allies, and organized a commando operation to destroy the Italian spy network in France. Later, Cousteau received the rank of commander of the Legion of Honor, among other military decorations. After the war, he defused marine mines.
Jacques Cousteau Preparing for a Dive, 1965
In 1943, in the midst of World War II, to produce his second film, he pasted a large amount of cinematographic film for children’s cameras in order to create a long-lasting film, because he had not been able to get the material in the amount he needed to create a feature film. Cousteau won three Oscars and was also the only person to receive a Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for a documentary in 48 years. He made a film about Lake Baikal, the deepest in the world. For a whole year he participated in the filming of the TV show Those Amazing Animals, in which one of the presenters was Priscilla Presley, ex-wife of Elvis Presley. In 1985, Cousteau’s team visited Cuba to study a unique species of lobster. Fidel Castro, who had read the explorer’s books and wanted to meet him, went to Cousteau’s boat for dinner. That night, the Cuban leader and the French researcher became friends and, thanks to that special friendship, 80 political prisoners were released.
But the personality and recognition of the French explorer were above the disputes of the Cold War and he was well regarded on both the American and Soviet sides – under which was Cuba. US President John F. Kennedy presented Cousteau with the American Geographical Society Medal at the White House.
To Cousteau’s right is National Geographic magazine editor Melville Bell Grosvenor. Behind him are the French ambassador, Hervé Alphand and his wife Nicole Alphand Merenda, as well as Cousteau’s wife, Simone Melchior Cousteau, to the ambassador’s right.
The first surveys after the Second World War were carried out by Cousteau in the company of the naval officer Philippe Tailliez and the diver Frédéric Dumas. Possibly due to Frédéric’s name, they began to be called “the musketeers of the sea” — the author of The Three Musketeers was also French Alexandre Dumas. Thanks to Cousteau’s inventions, underwater archeology emerged. He led the first archaeological expedition in Tunisia in 1948. At that time he discovered a Roman ship, which today is open to divers.
June 25, 1989. Jacques Cousteau appears in the photo in front of an aerostatic balloon in the shape of a 50-meter blue whale. It was part of an advertising campaign for the opening of the Maritime Museum in the Halles district of Paris.
Once, Cousteau came across an old British minesweeper ship used in World War II, still on active duty, that was traveling between one of the Malta islands and Gozo (also part of the Maltese archipelago). Despite being a normal boat, Cousteau considered it ideal for exploring the oceans. Thus began the story of the famous Calypso. The British millionaire and philanthropist Thomas Loel financed the purchase of the ship, charging him the symbolic value of 1 franc per year as payment. Thomas bought the boat and asked Cousteau for two things: not to tell anyone about the help he received and never to ask him for money again. The Calypso, one of Cousteau’s trademarks, was active until 1996, when it was rammed by another ship in Singapore and sank. It is currently under restoration.
Calypso in Montreal, Canada, 1980
In the 1960s, Cousteau led a scientific research whose participants lived and worked for a long time under water. The Conshelf I, II and III laboratories were located at a depth of 10, 30 and 102.4 meters, respectively, in the Mediterranean Sea, near Marseille, on the coast of France. The purpose of the experiment was to find out if people could live constantly under water. At first, participants submerged in pairs and remained at the base for seven days. On the third occasion, six people lived there for three weeks. The results of these experiments are still used today to prepare astronauts for life in space. The laboratory buildings are still preserved.
Diver in front of the Conshelf II, 2017
In 1960, a radioactive waste dump was going to be installed in the Mediterranean Sea. The French Commission for Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy even claimed that the project had been supported by oceanographers, although scientists were convinced that the amount of waste would be much less than what ended up being, in fact, discarded. Cousteau launched a noisy public campaign against the action and a group of environmental activists led by him even went so far as to lie down on a railroad track to stop the train carrying the radioactive material. In 1990, the Cousteau Foundation launched a worldwide petition to ban mineral extraction in Antarctica. The petition was successful and the ban took effect. Currently, Antarctica is visited only by scientists and tourists and there is no type of mineral exploration on the continent, be it iron ore or oil, for example. Not far from the Brazilian Antarctic Station Comandante Ferraz there is the skeleton of a humpback whale. The bones were placed there in 1972 by Cousteau’s team, who wanted to remember the tragic fate of whales in the 20th century.
Brazilian scientists near Comandante Ferraz Station on March 10, 2014
Have you seen Cousteau’s films? Remember the famous French explorer?
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