Portal:Marine life/Selected Biography/August, 2006



Jacques-Yves Cousteau (11 June 1910 – 25 June 1997) was a French naval officer, explorer, ecologist, filmmaker, 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.

Cousteau was born in Saint André de Cubzac, France to Daniel and Elizabeth Cousteau on June 11, 1910 and died in Paris, France. He is generally known in France as le commandant Cousteau ("Commander Cousteau"). Worldwide, he was commonly known as Jacques Cousteau or Captain Cousteau.

Cousteau liked to call himself an "oceanographic technician". He was in reality a sophisticated lover of nature. His work permitted many people to explore the resources of the "blue continent".

His work also created a new kind of scientific communication, criticised at the time by some academics. The so-called divulgationisme, a simple way of sharing scientific concepts, was soon employed in other disciplines and became one of the most important characteristics of modern TV broadcasting.

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