1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:13,640 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:16,919 Speaker 1: a show that plumbs the depths of history to deliver 4 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:20,960 Speaker 1: old news in a new way. I'm Gay Blusier and 5 00:00:21,079 --> 00:00:25,079 Speaker 1: in this episode we're talking about French oceaneering legend and 6 00:00:25,239 --> 00:00:36,159 Speaker 1: scuba pioneer Jacques Cousteau. The day was February third, nineteen 7 00:00:36,360 --> 00:00:42,159 Speaker 1: fifty three. French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau published his best selling memoir, 8 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:46,400 Speaker 1: The Silent World. The book was co authored by French 9 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:51,400 Speaker 1: writer and diving enthusiasts Frederick Dumas, and recounted Custo's early 10 00:00:51,479 --> 00:00:56,279 Speaker 1: years of underwater exploration. It was immensely successful, going on 11 00:00:56,360 --> 00:00:59,600 Speaker 1: to sell more than five billion copies in twenty two 12 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:04,679 Speaker 1: different languages. Three years later, a companion documentary was released 13 00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:08,120 Speaker 1: to build on the book's success. It too was titled 14 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:12,200 Speaker 1: The Silent World, and it too was highly acclaimed. The 15 00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:16,360 Speaker 1: film version was directed by Louis Mala and offered many 16 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:20,160 Speaker 1: viewers their first glimpse of the hidden world of tropical fish, 17 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:25,400 Speaker 1: whales and walruses. Mala's landmark film won both the Palm 18 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:29,480 Speaker 1: Idoor at the cann International Film Festival and the Academy 19 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:35,039 Speaker 1: Award for Best Documentary. Jacques Eyves Cousteau was born in 20 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:41,000 Speaker 1: southwestern France, not far from Bordeaux, on June eleven. He 21 00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:43,880 Speaker 1: was the second of two sons born to their father, 22 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:47,480 Speaker 1: an international lawyer, and their mother, the daughter of a 23 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:52,160 Speaker 1: successful wine merchant and landowner. The Cousteau family was well 24 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 1: off financially, but healthwise, Jacques was far from it. He 25 00:01:56,520 --> 00:02:00,240 Speaker 1: suffered from anemia and chronic stomach problems throughout his youth, 26 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:04,000 Speaker 1: but his illness didn't slow him down too much. Jacques 27 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:06,760 Speaker 1: learned how to swim when he was just four years old, 28 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:10,360 Speaker 1: and he later credited his early swimming experience as the 29 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:14,640 Speaker 1: origin for his life's great passion. In nineteen twenty, the 30 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:17,600 Speaker 1: Custo family moved to New York for the sake of Mr. 31 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:21,519 Speaker 1: Cousto's law practice. They lived there for about two years, 32 00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:24,040 Speaker 1: and it was during that time that Jacques learned to 33 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:27,880 Speaker 1: speak English. He also got plenty of practice swimming and 34 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:31,600 Speaker 1: snorkeling at a summer camp he attended in Vermont. It 35 00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:35,079 Speaker 1: was there that Jacques also got his first taste of diving. 36 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:37,760 Speaker 1: The camp had launched an effort to clean up the 37 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:41,320 Speaker 1: nearby lake, and Jacques volunteered to dive to the bottom 38 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:45,440 Speaker 1: to help clear away debris. Once again, this early experience 39 00:02:45,480 --> 00:02:49,560 Speaker 1: proved formative. Jacques quickly fell in love with being underwater, 40 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:52,280 Speaker 1: despite the fact that he didn't own any goggles at 41 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:55,320 Speaker 1: the time. On the plus side, there probably wasn't much 42 00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:58,160 Speaker 1: worth seeing at the bottom of a dirty lake. When 43 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:01,440 Speaker 1: the Custo family returned to France Ants in nineteen twenty two, 44 00:03:01,639 --> 00:03:05,440 Speaker 1: they settled in the Mediterranean city of Marseille, close to 45 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:09,600 Speaker 1: the Italian border. That allowed Jacques to continue snorkeling right 46 00:03:09,639 --> 00:03:13,120 Speaker 1: there along the city's coast. That was also around the 47 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:16,160 Speaker 1: time Jacques bought a used movie camera, which he then 48 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:19,240 Speaker 1: proceeded to take apart and reassemble so he could learn 49 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:22,720 Speaker 1: how it worked. The benefit of hindsight makes it seem 50 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:26,280 Speaker 1: like Jacques Cousteau's trajectory in life took shape early on. 51 00:03:26,880 --> 00:03:29,840 Speaker 1: By age twelve, he was already a curious boy who 52 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:33,040 Speaker 1: loved exploring under water, and who had a strong interest 53 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:37,160 Speaker 1: in both mechanics and filmmaking. At the time, though Jacques 54 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:39,600 Speaker 1: didn't have his sight set on a career at sea 55 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:43,080 Speaker 1: at all, and certainly not as a researcher, He got 56 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:46,080 Speaker 1: lousy grades in high school and didn't show much interest 57 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:49,600 Speaker 1: in academics. He also acted out a lot as a teenager, 58 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:53,040 Speaker 1: including one time when he went on a spree smashing windows. 59 00:03:53,760 --> 00:03:56,360 Speaker 1: Shortly after his parents decided to send him to a 60 00:03:56,400 --> 00:04:00,120 Speaker 1: super strict boarding school in northeast France. The discipline and 61 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:02,280 Speaker 1: seemed to do the trick for Jacques, and he did 62 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:04,800 Speaker 1: well both in and out of school from then on. 63 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:08,920 Speaker 1: He later attended college in Paris, and in nineteen thirty 64 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:11,800 Speaker 1: he was accepted to the French Naval Academy, where he 65 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:14,640 Speaker 1: trained for a couple of years before finally being commissioned 66 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:18,640 Speaker 1: as a second lieutenant. From there, things went smoothly for Jacques. 67 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:21,160 Speaker 1: For the next several years. He got to sail the 68 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:24,440 Speaker 1: world as a gunnery officer, traveling to exotic ports in 69 00:04:24,440 --> 00:04:27,799 Speaker 1: the Indian and South Pacific oceans and filming whatever caught 70 00:04:27,839 --> 00:04:31,520 Speaker 1: his eye along the way. Then, in nineteen thirty five, 71 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:34,680 Speaker 1: with a bit of experience under his belt, Jacques Cousteau 72 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:37,560 Speaker 1: finally decided on what he wanted to do for a career. 73 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:42,800 Speaker 1: He would become a naval aircraft pilot. That's right, after 74 00:04:42,880 --> 00:04:46,039 Speaker 1: all that tooling around at see Jacques wanted to fly, 75 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:49,839 Speaker 1: not sail. That's not how things worked out, though, due 76 00:04:49,839 --> 00:04:53,800 Speaker 1: to an unforeseen tragedy. In nineteen thirty six, just before 77 00:04:53,839 --> 00:04:57,080 Speaker 1: his training was complete, Jacques borrowed his dad's sports car 78 00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:00,320 Speaker 1: to attend a friend's wedding. On the way back that evening, 79 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:02,800 Speaker 1: he was going a bit too fast around a bend 80 00:05:02,839 --> 00:05:05,200 Speaker 1: in the road when all of a sudden, his headlights 81 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:09,800 Speaker 1: shorted out. Custo survived the crash, of course, but not 82 00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:13,159 Speaker 1: without breaking a dozen bones and fracturing both his arms 83 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:17,200 Speaker 1: were still his right arm became so badly infected that 84 00:05:17,279 --> 00:05:20,480 Speaker 1: surgeons thought the best option was to amputate it entirely. 85 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:24,719 Speaker 1: In the end, Cousteau insisted that his arm be left intact, 86 00:05:24,839 --> 00:05:28,919 Speaker 1: no matter how deadly the infection might get. Jacques Cousteau 87 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:32,560 Speaker 1: recovered eventually, but he never went back to piloting. The 88 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:35,120 Speaker 1: damage to his arms was too severe for him to 89 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:38,520 Speaker 1: ever fly a plane in combat. The silver lining was 90 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:42,080 Speaker 1: that the accident provided him the opportunity to reacquaint himself 91 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:44,640 Speaker 1: with the hobbies of his youth. He spent the next 92 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:47,919 Speaker 1: several months swimming daily in the Mediterranean Sea as a 93 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:50,840 Speaker 1: way to strengthen his arms to make the sessions more 94 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:54,080 Speaker 1: enjoyable for himself, he borrowed an early pair of swimming 95 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:57,480 Speaker 1: goggles from a friend. It was his first time using them, 96 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:00,560 Speaker 1: and it literally opened his eyes to the underwater mysteries 97 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:04,120 Speaker 1: all around him. From then on, Jacques spent as much 98 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:07,080 Speaker 1: time as he could taking in the strange and colorful 99 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:09,599 Speaker 1: plants and animals that he found on the sea floor. 100 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:12,960 Speaker 1: When it was time to return his friends goggles, Jacques 101 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:15,640 Speaker 1: decided to craft his own pair from something he just 102 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:20,039 Speaker 1: happened to have lying around, a pair of aircraft pilot goggles. 103 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:23,960 Speaker 1: Jacques new outlook extended to his love life as well. 104 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:27,240 Speaker 1: In nineteen thirty seven, just a year after the crash, 105 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:29,680 Speaker 1: he married a woman he had met at a cocktail 106 00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:33,680 Speaker 1: party earlier that year. Her name was simooned mel Cure, 107 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:37,120 Speaker 1: and she and Jacques stayed together for fifty three years 108 00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:40,599 Speaker 1: until her death in nineteen ninety. The couple also had 109 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:44,640 Speaker 1: two sons together, Jean Michelle born in nineteen thirty eight 110 00:06:44,839 --> 00:06:48,400 Speaker 1: and Philippe born in nineteen forty, both of whom joined 111 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:51,760 Speaker 1: their parents on many expeditions when they were young. I'm 112 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:54,200 Speaker 1: getting a little ahead of myself though, with that, because 113 00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:56,920 Speaker 1: a lot happened between the Cousteau's wedding and the time 114 00:06:56,960 --> 00:07:01,719 Speaker 1: the family first set sail, namely World War Two. Jacques 115 00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:04,080 Speaker 1: was still serving as a gunnery officer in the French 116 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:08,160 Speaker 1: Navy when the fighting began in nineteen thirty nine. Emotionally, 117 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:11,040 Speaker 1: it was a difficult time for him. His country was 118 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:14,080 Speaker 1: suddenly at war with the Italians right next door. He 119 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:16,520 Speaker 1: had friends over there, and now he was aboard the 120 00:07:16,520 --> 00:07:20,600 Speaker 1: ships that were attacking their naval bases. Understandably, he felt 121 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:24,280 Speaker 1: conflicted about waging war in the Mediterranean against the people 122 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:28,280 Speaker 1: he'd grown up with. Then a year later, France surrendered 123 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:33,400 Speaker 1: to Nazi Germany and the Italian occupation began. Thankfully, once 124 00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:36,520 Speaker 1: Paris fell, Jacques was able to flee with his family 125 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:39,640 Speaker 1: to a small town near the Swiss border. They lived 126 00:07:39,640 --> 00:07:43,000 Speaker 1: there peacefully for the next few years. In fact, that 127 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:46,280 Speaker 1: period of relative safety was when Jacques began to focus 128 00:07:46,320 --> 00:07:50,520 Speaker 1: on underwater exploration and research. To be clear, though, it's 129 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:54,200 Speaker 1: not like he was just on holiday. Following France's surrender, 130 00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:57,920 Speaker 1: Jacques joined the French resistance movement and began working against 131 00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:02,480 Speaker 1: Italy's intelligence services. Essentially spying on Italian troops and keeping 132 00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:06,080 Speaker 1: track of their movements. Amidst that long running series of 133 00:08:06,120 --> 00:08:10,520 Speaker 1: military operations, Jacques continued his ocean research and made several 134 00:08:10,520 --> 00:08:13,920 Speaker 1: technical breakthroughs. He was living in the heart of occupied 135 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:17,240 Speaker 1: France during the darkest days of the war, but amazingly 136 00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:20,120 Speaker 1: those were some of the most productive years of his life. 137 00:08:20,840 --> 00:08:24,040 Speaker 1: Nineteen forty three, in particular, was a pivotal year for 138 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:27,200 Speaker 1: Jacques Cousteau. First, in the town where he had fled to, 139 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:31,960 Speaker 1: he met a fellow explorer named Marcel Ishaq. That year 140 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:35,720 Speaker 1: they made the first French underwater film together, called eighteen 141 00:08:35,800 --> 00:08:39,480 Speaker 1: Meters Deep. They shot at themselves and the waters around 142 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:42,240 Speaker 1: a group of islands in the French Mediterranean, and it 143 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:44,800 Speaker 1: marked the first step in what would become a very 144 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:49,480 Speaker 1: long career of underwater filmmaking. However, that wasn't the only 145 00:08:49,520 --> 00:08:52,800 Speaker 1: life changing thing Jacques did in nineteen forty three. That 146 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:55,600 Speaker 1: was also the year that he co invented the aqua 147 00:08:55,679 --> 00:09:00,560 Speaker 1: lung with a French engineer named Emile Gignon. The aqua 148 00:09:00,640 --> 00:09:04,240 Speaker 1: lung wasn't the first breathing apparatus ever made, or even 149 00:09:04,280 --> 00:09:07,400 Speaker 1: the first scuba gear, hard hat diving suits had been 150 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:10,320 Speaker 1: around for almost a hundred years by the time Jacques 151 00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:13,760 Speaker 1: started diving. His own take on the concept was the 152 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:17,120 Speaker 1: result of his growing frustration with the limitations of then 153 00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:21,360 Speaker 1: current diving equipment. Jacques couldn't travel as deep as he wanted, 154 00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:23,920 Speaker 1: and he couldn't stay under for anywhere near as long 155 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:26,800 Speaker 1: as he would have liked. In those days, the best 156 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:30,319 Speaker 1: option on the market was the self contained underwater breathing 157 00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:34,480 Speaker 1: apparatus or scuba that had been invented about twenty years 158 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:38,320 Speaker 1: earlier by another French engineer. That meant divers had the 159 00:09:38,360 --> 00:09:41,200 Speaker 1: option of wearing air tanks on their backs instead of 160 00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:44,160 Speaker 1: wearing heavy helmets with air tubes that kept them tethered 161 00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:47,560 Speaker 1: to the surface. The problem was that the first scuba 162 00:09:47,559 --> 00:09:50,520 Speaker 1: gear lacked any kind of regulator, so there was no 163 00:09:50,559 --> 00:09:53,600 Speaker 1: way to control the airflow to the diver. That meant 164 00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:56,200 Speaker 1: the air supply was used up quickly because it was 165 00:09:56,240 --> 00:09:59,640 Speaker 1: being released in a constant stream, which limited dive times 166 00:09:59,640 --> 00:10:03,000 Speaker 1: to just a few minutes. Jacques wanted to dive as 167 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:05,840 Speaker 1: deep as he possibly could, but he couldn't get very 168 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:08,080 Speaker 1: far with only ten or twenty minutes worth of air. 169 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:11,920 Speaker 1: That limitation led him to reach out to Emil Gagnon. 170 00:10:12,480 --> 00:10:16,080 Speaker 1: A year earlier, the engineer had invented a demand regulator 171 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:19,320 Speaker 1: to control the gas flow and engines, and Jacques thought 172 00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:23,280 Speaker 1: the valve might have applications for diving as well. He figured, 173 00:10:23,320 --> 00:10:25,839 Speaker 1: if you could modify the valve just a little, it 174 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:29,560 Speaker 1: could supply air only when a diver breathed in, thus 175 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:32,480 Speaker 1: conserving the air supply and allowing the diver to stay 176 00:10:32,559 --> 00:10:36,720 Speaker 1: under water longer. Jacques took his idea to Gaignon, and 177 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:40,280 Speaker 1: in nineteen forty three they co invented and patented the 178 00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:44,000 Speaker 1: on demand diving regulator, or as they called it, the 179 00:10:44,040 --> 00:10:48,640 Speaker 1: Aqua lung. In the Silent World, the book, not the film, 180 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:52,080 Speaker 1: Jacques described his first dive with the equipment, which took 181 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:55,200 Speaker 1: place in the Mediterranean waters of the French Riviera in 182 00:10:55,320 --> 00:10:59,400 Speaker 1: June of nineteen forty three. At night, he wrote, I 183 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:02,960 Speaker 1: had off had visions of flying by extending my arms 184 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:06,880 Speaker 1: as wings. Now I flew without wings. I thought of 185 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:10,320 Speaker 1: the helmet diver arriving where I was, and his ponderous 186 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:13,960 Speaker 1: boots and struggling to walk a few yards, obsessed with 187 00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:18,559 Speaker 1: his umbilical and his head imprisoned in copper on skin dives. 188 00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:22,040 Speaker 1: I had seen him leaning dangerously forward to make a step, 189 00:11:22,440 --> 00:11:25,280 Speaker 1: clamped in heavier pressure at the ankles than the head, 190 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:29,319 Speaker 1: a cripple in an alien land. From this day forward, 191 00:11:29,360 --> 00:11:32,600 Speaker 1: though we would swim across miles of country, no man 192 00:11:32,720 --> 00:11:36,480 Speaker 1: had known free and level with our flesh, feeling what 193 00:11:36,600 --> 00:11:42,000 Speaker 1: the fish scales. No Jacques Cousteau put that newfound freedom 194 00:11:42,040 --> 00:11:45,720 Speaker 1: to use. Once the war ended in eight he joined 195 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:48,680 Speaker 1: with fellow divers and a group of scientists to explore 196 00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:52,120 Speaker 1: a Roman shipwreck off the coast of Tunisia. It was 197 00:11:52,160 --> 00:11:57,160 Speaker 1: the first underwater archaeology operation to use scuba equipment, effectively 198 00:11:57,360 --> 00:12:00,360 Speaker 1: the birth of a whole new field. Then, in the 199 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:03,520 Speaker 1: early nineteen fifties, Jacques and his team decided to take 200 00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:06,199 Speaker 1: the next step and devote their lives full time to 201 00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:10,679 Speaker 1: underwater exploration. The only problem was they would need lots 202 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:14,560 Speaker 1: of money to fund those expeditions, and they didn't have any. 203 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:18,040 Speaker 1: Jacques began reaching out to all kinds of French science 204 00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:22,240 Speaker 1: institutions as well as the potential private donors. Eventually he 205 00:12:22,320 --> 00:12:25,600 Speaker 1: struck gold with a wealthy British philanthropists and member of 206 00:12:25,640 --> 00:12:30,280 Speaker 1: Parliament named Thomas Lowell Guinness Jacques told him all about 207 00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:33,680 Speaker 1: his plans to make undersea documentaries and introduce the world 208 00:12:33,679 --> 00:12:36,760 Speaker 1: to the wonders of the deep, and Guinness loved the idea. 209 00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:40,680 Speaker 1: He agreed to help by buying a decommissioned mind sweeper 210 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:43,560 Speaker 1: ship from the War one that had already been converted 211 00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:46,360 Speaker 1: for use as a car ferry. He then leased the 212 00:12:46,360 --> 00:12:49,400 Speaker 1: ship to Jacques for the symbolic price of one franc 213 00:12:49,480 --> 00:12:52,760 Speaker 1: per year, and that's how Jacques Cousteau came to own 214 00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:58,200 Speaker 1: the world famous Calypso. Jacques was able to gradually restructure 215 00:12:58,240 --> 00:13:00,520 Speaker 1: the ship and transform it into a state of the 216 00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:04,280 Speaker 1: art research vessel, complete with a support base for diving, 217 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:07,840 Speaker 1: a helipad, and special storage for equipment such as the 218 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:12,240 Speaker 1: many submarines he had designed himself. The team's biggest break, though, 219 00:13:12,520 --> 00:13:15,480 Speaker 1: and the thing that really allowed Jacques to continue financing 220 00:13:15,480 --> 00:13:20,080 Speaker 1: their research, was his media exposure. Throughout the nineteen fifties, 221 00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:23,320 Speaker 1: he and his fellow divers began publicizing their efforts and 222 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:28,040 Speaker 1: stories for Time magazine and National Geographic. Jacques also co 223 00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:31,760 Speaker 1: authored a memoir during this time about his scuba adventures, 224 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:35,800 Speaker 1: called The Silent World. It was a triumph both financially 225 00:13:35,800 --> 00:13:39,280 Speaker 1: and scientifically, as it included the first ever suggestion that 226 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:42,720 Speaker 1: Wales are able to communicate with each other using echolocation. 227 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:45,800 Speaker 1: The team knew exactly how to build on the book's 228 00:13:45,760 --> 00:13:49,880 Speaker 1: success to Just three years later, Jacques Cousteau made his 229 00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:53,360 Speaker 1: first documentary film about the ocean, which was also called 230 00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:57,320 Speaker 1: The Silent World for maximum Synergy. The film was another 231 00:13:57,360 --> 00:14:00,440 Speaker 1: major turning point for the team and really for diving 232 00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:03,640 Speaker 1: in general. At the time, very few people had ever 233 00:14:03,679 --> 00:14:07,080 Speaker 1: seen undersea footage before, so the movie was a revelation 234 00:14:07,200 --> 00:14:10,120 Speaker 1: for folks who had no idea what underwater plants and 235 00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:14,040 Speaker 1: marine life even looked like. After the film was released, 236 00:14:14,160 --> 00:14:18,000 Speaker 1: scuba sales soared, with many people scrambling to try diving 237 00:14:18,040 --> 00:14:22,200 Speaker 1: for themselves. Once again, Jacques Cousteau knew exactly how to 238 00:14:22,280 --> 00:14:25,080 Speaker 1: capitalize on the public interest and use it to fuel 239 00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:28,840 Speaker 1: further expeditions. By the late nineteen sixties, he was such 240 00:14:28,840 --> 00:14:32,160 Speaker 1: a well known figure that the BBC and ABC in 241 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:36,080 Speaker 1: the US gave him his own primetime TV show. It 242 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:39,680 Speaker 1: was called The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, and it 243 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:42,240 Speaker 1: followed the real life exploits of he and his crew 244 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:45,400 Speaker 1: for a total of nine seasons, which is an impressive 245 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:49,040 Speaker 1: run for a French nature series. It was that series 246 00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:52,240 Speaker 1: that really made Jacques Cousteau a household name throughout the 247 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:55,360 Speaker 1: nineteen seventies and eighties. In the same way that The 248 00:14:55,440 --> 00:14:59,520 Speaker 1: Silent World had introduced readers and moviegoers to the underwater realm, 249 00:14:59,800 --> 00:15:03,200 Speaker 1: that TV show gave viewers their first glimpse of humans 250 00:15:03,280 --> 00:15:06,720 Speaker 1: interacting with marine life in ways they'd never seen before, 251 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:10,640 Speaker 1: such as swimming with dolphins or being pulled along by 252 00:15:10,720 --> 00:15:15,040 Speaker 1: giant sea turtles. Jacques continued his ocean research for the 253 00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:18,400 Speaker 1: rest of his life, eventually adding conservation work to his 254 00:15:18,520 --> 00:15:24,400 Speaker 1: already impressive resume. He died on June at the age 255 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:29,560 Speaker 1: of eighty seven. His inventions revolutionized undersea exploration, and the 256 00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:32,520 Speaker 1: work he did in film and TV sparked a public 257 00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:35,480 Speaker 1: interest in ocean research that's been difficult to match in 258 00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:40,720 Speaker 1: the decades since. Cousteau's motto aboard the Calypso was il 259 00:15:40,840 --> 00:15:46,200 Speaker 1: fo allevoi we must go and see. His work proved 260 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:51,040 Speaker 1: that necessity, because exploring the oceans, whether firsthand or through 261 00:15:51,080 --> 00:15:53,880 Speaker 1: others accounts, is the best way for people to fall 262 00:15:53,920 --> 00:15:57,440 Speaker 1: in love with them, and the marvels they contain from there. 263 00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:00,080 Speaker 1: The hope is that if we love the ocean, and 264 00:16:00,160 --> 00:16:02,440 Speaker 1: we'll do our best to take care of it. It 265 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:08,120 Speaker 1: may sound a little corny, but here's hoping. I'm Gabe 266 00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:11,560 Speaker 1: Newsier and hopefully you now know a little more about 267 00:16:11,640 --> 00:16:15,640 Speaker 1: history today than you did yesterday. You can learn even 268 00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:18,880 Speaker 1: more about history by following us on Twitter, Facebook, and 269 00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:23,200 Speaker 1: Instagram at t d i HC Show, and if you 270 00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:26,040 Speaker 1: have any comments or suggestions, feel free to send them 271 00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:28,800 Speaker 1: my way by writing to This Day at I heart 272 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:32,640 Speaker 1: media dot com. Thanks to Chandler May's for producing the show, 273 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:35,120 Speaker 1: and thanks to you for listening. I'll see you back 274 00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:38,520 Speaker 1: here again soon for another day in History class.