A short message about jacque willows cousteau. What is Jacques-Yves Cousteau famous for? Biography, research, inventions. Other inventions of Cousteau

On June 11, 1910, one of the most prominent Ocean Citizens, Jacques Yves Cousteau, was born in Saint-André-de-Cubzac, in the French region of Bordeaux.

This extraordinary person has always wanted to keep secret most of his life in general, and his work in particular. In fact, in all his actions, public or not, there were two sides - visible and hidden. It was relatively easy to reconstruct the course of his life, compile his life story and present a catalog of his discoveries and works, and, on the contrary, in most cases it was quite difficult to understand why he made the decision to participate in this or that enterprise, to move in the chosen direction. The task was complicated by the fact that he practically did not discuss the strategy and tactics of his actions with almost anyone, even with the people closest to him. He was a Pasha, a “charismatic leader,” and he said, “We will go there,” and everyone else obeyed faithfully and obediently.

His father Daniel worked as a private secretary for two Americans. The first was an insurance agent, the second was an entrepreneur. His mother, Elizabeth Duranton, was the daughter of a local pharmacist. Due to the official duties of his father, the family moved a lot from place to place and quite often lived in the United States, where Jacques Yves studied at one of the private educational institutions in New York.

When it came time to return to France, Cousteau turned 13. His father bought a movie camera to film family entertainment, but as soon as it fell into the hands of Jacques, he began to own it alone. This was the beginning of a real passion: Jacques created "real films", built sets, filmed and even developed the film himself. He soon created his first film production company, Film Zix, Jacques Cousteau.

The studies, which he continued in France, were not marked with particular success. Domestic teaching methods were too different from American ones, and it was only within the walls of the Jesuit College in Paris that Cousteau began to take his studies seriously. He received his bachelor's degree in 1930 - at the age of 20, passed the entrance exams to the National Higher Naval School and was admitted there with good results. In 1933, he was assigned to the Primoge cruiser, heading to the Middle East, and even then his comrades noted Cousteau's tendency to speak about himself in a somewhat strange manner, as well as his desire for isolation and loneliness.

In 1936, he asked for an assignment to the naval aviation and secured a transfer. In the same year, fascinated by cars and high speeds, he took a ride in his father's sports car and had an accident. Its consequences were truly dire for Jacques Yves Cousteau. He had many broken ribs, dislocated vertebrae, a punctured lung and paralyzed hands. Cousteau's career as a lieutenant in the naval aviation was over, and only his exceptional willpower and fighter character allowed him to leave the hospital in less than a year. Cousteau was weak, but he stood on his own feet and confidently wielded both hands. He was also in love. Simone Melchior became his happy chosen one. Her mother was the daughter of Admiral Jean Baem, passionate about underwater research, the organizer of an expedition to Tunisia, to Mahdia. The will of chance was manifested in the fact that 12 years later, Jacques Yves Cousteau returned to the same region on a ship to carry out underwater work.

Cousteau was assigned to Suffren and later to Codercel, assigned to the naval base at Toulon. In July 1937, naval lieutenant Jacques Yves Cousteau married Simone Melquior in Paris and the young family settled in Toulon. Simone was a charming young woman, an exemplary officer's wife, and attracted the attention of everyone who knew her, and especially those who later got on board the Calypso.

At the same time, there was an extraordinary man in Toulon, a naval officer of a higher rank than Jacques Yves Cousteau, a poet, humanist and a great lover of sports, in love with the sea. He devoted all his time off duty to the sea, and most of his free time he spent underwater hunting in the waters of the Var department, in the south of France. His name was Philippe Tayet. His inseparable friend in spearfishing was called Frederic Dumas, and it was he who later became the legendary Didi. In his book Plongees sans cables, Philippe Tayet later described the character of Jacques Yves Cousteau rather impartially. They met one day in 1938, and Philippe Tayet became Cousteau's godfather in free diving. The equipment at that time was the simplest and was limited to a pair of glasses (the so-called Fernez), by the way, very uncomfortable.

Jacques Yves Cousteau was shocked, his whole life turned upside down at this moment, and he decided to devote it entirely to penetration into the underwater world. Philippe Tayet, Jacques Yves Cousteau and Didi never parted. They dived together, trying to adapt the systems existing at that time for breathing underwater. Such, for example, as the spacesuit of Captain Le Prieure. Jacques Yves Cousteau's father-in-law, Henri Melchior, worked for I Air Luquide in Paris, where materials and equipment for various types of gases were studied and developed. His support was invaluable to three friends.

In September 1939, Jacques Yves Cousteau was appointed gunner to the cruiser Duplelx, where he served until June 1940, the date of the armistice between France and Germany. As for Philippe Tayet, he served on the destroyer Valmy, while Didi was a mule driver in North Provence.

In early 1941, Jacques Yves Cousteau, by order of the Vichy government, participated in a successful raid on the Italian mission in Sete in order to obtain secret military fonts. For this operation, he was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor in 1946. Cousteau's participation in this operation was largely due to the position of his older brother Pierre Antoine. With all this, Jacques Yves Cousteau never left his passion for cinema. With the help of one of his friends, Vesh, he made a 35mm camera, placed it in a waterproof box, and after several unsuccessful attempts, he managed to take pictures of the seabed at a depth of about 20 meters.

After the sinking of the French fleet in Toulon in November 1942, Jacques Yves Cousteau and his friends were left without their ships and practically without work. They returned to their underwater hobbies and started editing the episodes that had been filmed earlier. The result of this work was the 18-minute film "18 meters under the water". For the first time this film was presented to the public on April 10, 1943 in Paris at the National Theater Chaillot, as part of a screening organized by the then French authorities under the control of the propaganda department of the occupation authorities. Jacques Yves Cousteau was introduced as the director of this film and received a warm welcome, especially on the pages of the collaboration publication I Am Everywhere, of which Pierre Antoine Cousteau is editor-in-chief. As a result of this screening, and again thanks to the help of his older brother, Jacques Yves Cousteau received permission from the occupation authorities for preferential conditions for filming, including permission to film in the militarized area of ​​the Mediterranean coast. In addition, he had the opportunity to receive film, which was strictly limited at the time. In 1942, Jacques Yves Cousteau set up his first film production company, Cousteau's Science Film Studio, before organizing Sharks United, which later produced a significant portion of his films. We can say with complete confidence that it was at this time that Captain Cousteau's "Odyssey" began.

The project experienced an unusually meteoric rise thanks to a meeting arranged through the mediation of Henri Melchior's father-in-law between Jacques Yves Cousteau and Émile Gagnan, an engineer at I Air liquide. Jacques Yves Cousteau outlined his wishes for diving equipment. Engineer Emil Gagnan was working on a prototype of a gas-fired engine reducer at the time. He assembled such an apparatus and conducted a series of tests on the Marne near Paris in 1943. Not too satisfied with the initial results, Emil Gagnan modified the craft, and in June 1943 the model, tested at sea, proved to be excellent in service.

The three friends teamed up again, but this time at the insistence of Jacques Yves Cousteau. They were going to start filming again without any special restrictions thanks to the sufficient amount of film and passes provided with the participation of Pierre Antoine Cousteau. The footage they filmed became the basis of the film "Remains of Sunken Ships". Among other places, the shooting was carried out among the sunken ships that covered the bottom of the Toulon roadstead.

After the liberation of France in 1945, officers Philippe Tayet and Jacques Yves Cousteau returned to naval service. They began looking for work that matched their professionalism and technical training in the field of underwater work, and they were asked to develop and implement a program for demining the Toulon raid. Friends took on this dangerous assignment. They created on the basis of the navy the specialized structure G. E. R. S. (group of underwater research and search), which was led by Captain Theis. Later they found a pretext for the official acceptance of the "mule driver" Dumas into their ranks.

In 1947 the G. E. R. S. received its own ship, the Engineer Eli Monier. The Navy provided G. E.R.S. funds for the work of Jacques Yves Cousteau. It agreed to support the resumption of archaeological excavations in Mahdia at depths of over 30 meters in difficult diving conditions. The ministry also proposed to continue experimental work on the creation of a deep-sea diving apparatus by the Swiss professor Picard near Dakar. This last experience was unsuccessful, and strongly affected Cousteau, but it allowed him to learn an unforgettable lesson for the future.

A promotion to the officer's rank obliged Cousteau to change his position, and this prospect did not please him at all, as it forced him to leave the underwater activities begun within the G.E.R.S. However, he was a candidate for several positions at once. Thanks to one of them, he could become the head of a new program for the development of the bathyscaphe. Cousteau decided to ask for a special status for himself, and his request was granted, after which Jacques Yves Cousteau strove to achieve independence at all costs in order to do what he himself wanted without guardianship and coercion. That is why he wanted to be able to dispose of the enormous economic potential that subsea development had at that time thanks to "his" Cousteau / Ganian gearbox, supplied to commercial production by the Spirotechnik company, a subsidiary of Air Liquide.

Later, the controlling company "Aqua Lang International" brought together more than 20 perfect different companies, successfully manufactured and sold worldwide diving equipment under various brands. This company provided a turnover of about a billion French francs, of which Jacques Yves Cousteau received 5 percent as the author of the patented invention.

Jacques Yves Cousteau sought complete independence in order to try to implement his most daring plans - to be the first and most ambitious explorer of the underwater world, to create and perfect technical equipment that would meet the specific requirements of the present and the future. He did not want any kind of guardianship, he wanted to personally determine the goal in order to independently use the results of the work done. For this he needs his own ship. Cousteau loved an old Royal British Navy minesweeper that he saw in Malta and which bore the fateful name "Calypso". But Cousteau did not have the funds to buy the ship. The well-known producer of Guinness beer became a patron, it was he who contributed most of the required amount, while the rest of the potential contributors participated in the costs: the association "French Oceanographic Societies", created by Jacques Yves Cousteau especially for this occasion, made a historic purchase, which took place in July 1950 of the year. Jacques Yves Cousteau at that time was 40 years old.

The re-equipment of the Calypso took a whole year. The most important of the technical innovations of the ship was the device under the stem, about 2 meters below the waterline. It was a special underwater observation booth. It had the shape of a sphere in which special windows were installed. Jacques Yves Cousteau was willing to pledge body and soul to obtain the necessary subsidies for his first expedition to the Red Sea. The French Navy sent two mechanics and one sailor aboard the Calypso. All other crew members were volunteers, as was Simone Cousteau, who was appointed as the ship's commissioner. Frederic Dumas was on board as an assistant in charge of the dives. Volcanologist A. Tazieff also participated in the voyage on a volunteer basis and together with the others performed the necessary work on board, grumbling and cursing.

Three months later, the expedition returned, and a man later called the legendary Beber, Bernard Falco, boarded the Calypso. He only left the ship in 1996, during its wreck off the coast of Hong Kong. In the same year, Cousteau became seriously interested in stories about shards of amphorae and various objects that fishermen often found casting their nets in front of Marseille, in the Grand Conglüe area, from the Friuli Islands. Having received the necessary information, he decided to take into his own hands what became the first and greatest underwater archaeological construction site. Cousteau did not finish it, leaving this concern to the passionate enthusiast Yves Giraud, who participated in all the works from the very beginning. More than 2,000 amphorae and other objects were raised to the surface. Some critics said that the excavations were carried out without any method and without special training, but these statements, formulated later by titled archaeologists, did not take into account the innumerable difficulties of deep-sea diving in difficult terrain, in the sea, at times rather harsh. On the other hand, it was extremely difficult to ensure the successful interaction of people and especially machines and equipment, including pumps that pump out sand and mud, inconvenient and dangerous to operate, especially since they were often used at a depth of about 50-60 meters.

Jacques Yves Cousteau used his genius skills, later honed to perfection, in working with the media. The press and television all over the world reported on the construction in Grand-Conglouet, the Nationl Geographic devoted a long article to it, which made Cousteau famous in English-speaking countries.

And at the same time, more advanced equipment for underwater filming was being created. First of all, thanks to Professor Edgerton, the inventor of the electronic flash, and the ingenious engineer Laban, the author of cameras for filming. The most famous industrial firms have sought to participate in this technological breakthrough and willingly made investments. Nevertheless, the hectic activity was associated with high costs, and Jacques-Yves Cousteau was forced to turn to solving problems less spectacular, but more profitable. Offshore oil was in vogue, and its developers urgently needed trained teams to operate effectively. Starting work in this area, Cousteau created the French underwater research company 1OFRS (1 Office Francais de Recherches Sous marines), which signed contracts with oil companies and allowed Cousteau to take a short break before filming a feature film. The idea of ​​the picture has long matured in his head, it should bear the same name as the book he wrote together with F. Dumas in 1953 - "The World of Silence", which was a huge success all over the world, finally confirming the fame of Jacques Yves Cousteau ...

At the same time, Cousteau took part in the experimental diving of the bathyscaphe "Trieste" of Professor Picard, forgetting the failures of 1948. The device successfully sank to a depth of 3200 meters with the professor and his son on board. During this operation, the command of the French Navy asked him to provide underwater surveys. Cousteau was convinced that his future was in the study of the technique of human penetration into the underwater world. Experiments with the "Precontinent" have been carried out to prove this.

In 1954, Jacques Yves Cousteau traveled to the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. The young filmmaker Louis Malle was also on board the Calypso. Cousteau introduced him to diving, and the young man filmed a documentary series, which was later successfully shown to millions of viewers. Cousteau already realized that the media of the future is television, bringing images to homes sooner than potential viewers get to the cinema. This series significantly increased its American audience and was released by a new society founded by Jacques Yves Cousteau, Les Requins Associes.

In early 1955, everyone gathered aboard the Calypso for the great sail, heading for the Red Sea. The shooting of "The World of Silence" has begun, which has become a cult film for all those in love with the underwater world. The Red Sea, then the Indian Ocean, the Seychelles with excerpts from Jojo le Merou were filmed, then numerous shots were made around the world in places unknown at that time.

The film was edited and presented on an extraordinary scale in Paris in February 1956 at the Champs Elysees Theater. All kinds of celebrities were invited, the president of the republic, chairmen of both chambers of parliament, representatives of the constitutional authorities, as well as ambassadors of more than 30 countries were present. The National Navy provided a guard of honor to the accompaniment of naval marches. The triumph of the film is unimaginable, the audience gave a standing ovation for more than half an hour. Newspapers, radio and television called the film the work of the century.

The film was selected for screening at the Cannes Film Festival, where for the first time the film received the Palme d'Or in the Documentary nomination. In New York, the film received the same phenomenal reception. In 1957 he was awarded an Oscar, and the following year another film by Jacques Yves Cousteau, The Story of a Red Fish, won another prize at the Cannes Film Festival and another Oscar in Hollywood. This confirmed that the success of his work was not accidental. Jacques Yves Cousteau managed throughout his life to preserve the halo of glory that "The World of Silence" brought him. And he made full use of all the opportunities provided by the media.

In 1957, Prince Rainier of Monaco invited Cousteau to become director of the Oceanographic Museum of the Principality. He accepted the offer, and this suited both sides: the state took advantage of the cinematic fame of the researcher Cousteau, and Jacques Yves could congratulate himself on his appointment to a scientific position. In fact, he never called himself a scientist, but acted and behaved as if he was. It is enough to listen to his speeches and comments in author's films to be convinced of this. This state of affairs somewhat annoyed some real scientists, but they did not have such a practical underwater experience as Cousteau.

The finding of Cousteau at the head of the Oceanographic Museum had little effect on the activities of this organization. Jacques Yves could not often be found in his office, he sacredly observed the condition set upon his appointment to the post - to retain freedom of action in everything that concerned the rest of his activities. He provided the opportunity to replace himself with Jean Alin, and then Philip Rowe, allowing them to solve current issues. But he never delegated authority to resolve fundamental problems. Cousteau left his post only in 1989, 32 years after he settled in the principality.

In 1957, in the intervals between filming, Cousteau experimented with the first project of a "diving saucer", he tested the devices at great (about 2000 meters) depths. A year later, the researcher accepted a number of proposals for organizing new operations for OFRS, requiring diving to great depths. First of all, he studied the possibility of laying an oil pipeline. Since 1959, the "diving saucer" has become a great help in the implementation of underwater projects.

The year 1960 brought Cousteau abundant revenues, which made it possible to secure funding for the multifaceted activities of Cousteau's companies, while he himself was carried away by an extremely ambitious project that could be dubbed "Underwater Homes". In 1962, Jacques Yves Cousteau began his legendary experiment to study full life under water. During Operation Precontinent I, two swimmers, Albert Falco and Claude Wesley, lived for a week on the high seas opposite the shores of Marseille in an underwater house at a depth of 10 meters and worked at a depth of 25 meters underwater. The results of the work were encouraging, and in 1963, Operation Precontinent II was launched in the Red Sea, followed by Operation Precontinent III in 1965. Five people, among whom were "veterans" of the first "Precontinent", participated in the second experiment and six in the third. Among them was Philippe Cousteau - the son of Jacques Yves Cousteau. But he had two sons. The eldest son Jean-Michel became an architect in 1960, and soon completed several sketches for his father. The youngest Philip, having received a bachelor's degree in 1961, entered military service in the French Navy, and after some time - at the Higher Cinematic Courses. He took an active part in his father's research activities.

Cousteau's experiments made it possible to achieve certain scientific and technical results, to better study the features of the human psyche in a closed space at a depth, but were regarded by the authorities as too expensive. The work stoppage greatly disappointed Cousteau.

Another result of Operation Precontinent III was the Oscar for the film A World Without Sun. The film did not have the same success as The World of Silence. Some critics did not hesitate to reproach the filmmakers for openly rude stunts, but Cousteau was upset by these reproaches mainly because they knocked out the technical and scientific staff on the Calypso from the working rhythm. To cope with the difficulties that arose, Cousteau secured a major contract from the French government for "conducting a new type of underwater research work." "Argironet" - this name was given to the imagination of the engineer of the French Petroleum Institute (FIN) Pierre Vilma. The project was half-funded by FIN and CNEXO. Having drawn up and approved the initial estimate, they handed over the implementation of Jacques Yves Cousteau's SEMA Argironet. The scope of the planned work is enormous. They were designed for more than four years. This period was the most difficult for the researcher from a financial point of view. But Cousteau could afford a lot, given his fantastic fame. In 1972, Cousteau left his homeland. In America, he met with his youngest son Philip, the owner of his own film studio. Elder Jean-Michel also went with his father. He was responsible for the logistics required for the Calypso's travels around the world.

In the United States, Cousteau now has an "alternate airfield." His company Requins Assoies had a very important contract with a number of American television programs for five years. In many ways, it was this circumstance that made the face of Jacques Yves Cousteau familiar to viewers all over the world. And above all - thanks to the television series The Odyssey of Captain Cousteau. He laughed when he heard that he had become a real TV star. He didn’t care about criticism, whether it came from scientists or from filmmakers. Jacques Yves Cousteau always wanted to do better. It was not enough for him to remain only a researcher and documentary filmmaker, and he seeks to expand his powers.

In 1977, in the United States, under the guise of a non-profit organization, the Cousteau Society was organized. Its goal was "to protect nature and improve the quality of life", the father became the president of the society, and his son Jean-Michel was appointed vice president. New York was chosen as the base of the headquarters. Cousteau's name worked wonders. The society received active contributions, the members of the society received the published works "Calypso Log" and "Dolphin Log". The sale of goods at home was carried out in the American manner - by mail. The success has been tremendous, and it is pushing for the establishment of branch offices in Norfolk and Los Angeles.

In Norfolk, the Cousteau Society wanted to build an oceanographic park with the help of the municipal government, like the one Jean-Michel and his father tried to create in Long Beach, but the project ended in complete financial failure and the loss of millions of dollars. But despite the caustic campaign launched in the local press against the project, he convinced the authorities of his trustworthiness. Unfortunately (or, on the contrary, fortunately for depositors), due to the change of city authorities, this plan was not destined to come true.

In 1979, Cousteau's youngest son Philippe died. He participated in the filming of films with his father, filling the pictures with shots taken from the Catalina seaplane. On June 28, 1979, Philip traveled to Portugal, to the Rio Tejo Delta, to check the quality of repairs to the seaplane carried out in local workshops. The tests were flawless, but upon landing on the water, after the first contact with the surface, the nose of the car suddenly went under the water. The tail of the seaplane was only flooded with water, the entire crew remained unharmed, only Philip was not on board, who was declared missing. His body was never found.

Jacques-Yves Cousteau with sons - Philip and Michel.

The death of his son greatly affected the Cousteau. The failure of the Norfolk park plan did not affect the popularity of Jacques Yves Cousteau in the United States. However, in 1981 he returned to his homeland, where he founded the "Cousteau Foundation" with the same structure and the same goals as his older "American brother". The success was much the same, and this society continues to this day. It was under the auspices of this organization that the first tests of the ship were carried out on a fundamentally new, revolutionary wind-driven turbine - a turbosailboat. The company purchased an old catamaran and repaired it. The director of the Sanary naval shipyard became a loyal associate of Cousteau. Meanwhile, the authors of the concept of the turbosailboat L. Malavar, B. Charier and Jacques Yves Cousteau decided that the catamaran would serve as a scaled-down model for the ship "Alsion". The company was developed under the direction of the naval architect Maurice, the designer of the France Z sailing ship, which participated in the America's Cup, and the author of the initial conversion to the Calypso. The small vessel was named "Windmill". At the end of 1983, she set out on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic, where she was caught in a very violent storm, losing her mast and sail. But Jacques Yves did not despair. He contacted the investors and resumed the venture with renewed vigor. Alcion was ready in 1985, crossed the Atlantic in the spring and made a splash with its handling and economy. However, the overall result was still not in his favor, since the cost of operating the ship exceeded the price of the saved energy. In June 1989, Cousteau became head of the French Academy, almost simultaneously leaving his duties as director of the Oceanographic Museum in Monaco.

In December 1990, Simone Cousteau died suddenly and was affectionately called “shepherdess” by all who knew this woman intimately. Her calm disposition certainly influenced the character of Captain Cousteau. Simone's ashes were scattered over the sea off the coast of Monaco. Cousteau married a second time at the end of June 1991 to Francine Triplet, mother of Diana and Pierre-Yves Cousteau. Prior to that, Francine and Cousteau had a secret romance for 14 years. Jacques Yves Cousteau at that time was 80 years old.

The complex ties between the numerous societies founded by Cousteau have sometimes served as a tempting lure for those who like to fish in troubled waters. The tax services became more and more interested in the management of a number of organizations. In particular, in the United States, the "Cousteau Society" was arrested for not providing bills, for illegal recruitment into their ranks by mail, which is not provided for by law. Some divisions of the society got so confused in their relations with the law that their activities ended with the confiscation of property. Nevertheless, no one encroached on the good name of Cousteau himself.

Jacques Yves Cousteau died on June 25, 1997 from myocardial infarction as a result of complications of a respiratory illness and was buried in the family plot in the Saint-André-de-Cubzac cemetery.
In 2010, a documentary about Jacques Yves Cousteau was filmed film "Ocean Citizen".

Some quotes of the Commander - Jacques Yves Cousteau, which became famous.

If we obeyed logic, our future would be sad. There are things that are more important than logic, because we are people, and faith, hope live in us, and we know how to work.

We run our Earth carelessly.

Childhood is the most eventful period of life

Pioneers are driven by curiosity, followed by science.

Unhappiness is ourselves, and happiness is others.

The happiness of a bee or a dolphin is to exist. For a person, happiness is to know that you exist and admire this fact.

One must love life, even in the most unattractive forms.

If a person has the opportunity to lead an unusual life, he has no right to refuse it.

In a market economy, anything has a price, but nothing has value.

Only impossible tasks are successful.

A good ecologist is a type who sees far ahead and does not really believe in progress, science and technology.

Used materials:

Materials of the site www.j-cousteau.ru
Materials of the site www.octopus.ru

Jacques-Yves Cousteau Born June 11, 1910 in Saint-André-de-Cubzac, Bordeaux, France - died June 25, 1997 in Paris. French ocean explorer, photographer, filmmaker, inventor, author of many books and films. He was a member of the French Academy. Commander of the Legion of Honor. Known as Captain Cousteau (FR. Commandant Cousteau). Together with Emil Gagnan, he developed and tested scuba gear in 1943.

Jacques-Yves Cousteau was born in the small town of Sainte-André-de-Cubzac in the Bordeaux wine region, the son of a lawyer Daniel and Elizabeth Cousteau.

His father Daniel Cousteau (23 October 1878-1969) was the second child of four children of a notary from Sainte-André-de-Cubzac, at birth recorded under the double name Pierre-Daniel. A well-to-do notary managed to give his son a good upbringing and education. Daniel studied law in Paris, becoming the youngest doctor of law in France. He worked in the United States as the private secretary of a wealthy entrepreneur and Francophile James Hazen Hyde. Married Elizabeth Duranthon (born Nov. 21, 1878), daughter of a pharmacist from his hometown; the family settled in the 17th arrondissement of Paris at 12, lane de Doisy. On March 18, 1906, their firstborn, Pierre-Antoine, was born. Four years later, Jacques-Yves was born at his grandfather's house in Sainte-André-de-Cubzac. Daniel's family traveled a lot.

Jacques-Yves became interested in water at an early age. At the age of 7, he was diagnosed with chronic enteritis, so the family doctor did not recommend heavy loads. Due to illness, Cousteau became very skinny. During the First World War, Daniel Cousteau became unemployed, but after the war he again found work in the company of the American Eugene Higgins. He had to travel a lot on business, his sons went to school and spent most of the year in a boarding school. Cousteau learned to swim early and loved the sea for the rest of his life.

In 1920, Eugene Higgins returned to New York, with the Cousteau family following him. Jacques-Yves and Pierre-Antoine went to school in the United States and learned to speak English fluently. There, during a family vacation in Vermont, the brothers made their first dives. In 1922 Higgins and the Cousteau Family returned to France. In the United States, Jacques-Yves became interested in mechanics and design. In France, he built a battery-powered car. This hobby helped him in his work in the future. With the money he saved and earned, Cousteau bought himself his first movie camera.

Although Jacques-Yves was interested in many things, study was not given to him. After some time, his parents decided to send him to a special boarding school, which he graduated with honors.

In 1930 he entered the Naval Academy. He was twenty-second, moreover, the group in which he studied was the first to sail around the world aboard the Jeanne d'Arc ship.

He graduated from the military academy with the rank of ensign, was sent to the naval base in Shanghai, he also visited the USSR, where he took a lot of photographs, but almost all the materials were seized. Cousteau decided to go to the Naval Aviation Academy, the sky attracted him, but after a car accident on a mountain road he had to give up aviation. Cousteau broke several ribs and fingers on his left hand, injured his lungs, and his right arm was paralyzed. The rehabilitation course took eight months. For restoration in 1936 he entered as an instructor on the cruiser "Sufren", assigned to the port of Toulon. One day he went to the store and saw diving goggles. Diving with them, he realized that from now on his life belongs undividedly to the underwater kingdom.

In 1937 he married Simone Melchior, who bore him two sons, Jean-Michel (1938) and Philippe (1940-1979, died in the Catalina plane crash). During World War II - a member of the French resistance movement.

According to his first book, "In the world of silence" Cousteau began diving using a mask, snorkel and fins, along with Frederic Dumas and Philippe Talle in 1938. In 1943, he tested the first prototype of a scuba gear., developed by him jointly with Emil Ganyan. This allowed for the first time to conduct long-term underwater research, which greatly contributed to the improvement of modern knowledge about the underwater world. Cousteau became the creator of waterproof cameras and lighting fixtures, and invented the first underwater television system.

Before it became known about the ability of porpoises to echolocation, Cousteau assumed the possibility of its existence. In his first book, In a World of Silence, he reported that his exploration ship Élie Monier was heading towards the Strait of Gibraltar and noticed a group of pigs following them. Cousteau changed the course of the ship a few degrees from the optimum, and the pigs followed the ship for a while, and then swam to the center of the strait. It was obvious that they knew where the optimal course lay, even if the people didn’t know. Cousteau concluded that cetaceans have something like sonar, which was at that time a relatively new element on submarines. He was right.

Since the early 1950s, Cousteau has been conducting oceanographic research with the Calypso (a decommissioned minesweeper of the British Royal Navy). Recognition came to Cousteau with the release of the book "In the world of silence" in 1953, co-authored with Frederic Dumas. The film, based on the book, won an Oscar and a Palme d'Or in 1956.

In 1957, Cousteau was appointed director of the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco. In 1973 he founded the non-profit Cousteau Society for the Conservation of the Marine Environment.

In 1991, a year after his wife Simone died from cancer, he married Francine Triplet. By that time, they already had a daughter, Diana (1979) and a son, Pierre (1981), born before marriage.

Cousteau died at the age of 87 from myocardial infarction as a result of a complication of a respiratory illness. He was buried in the family plot at the Saint-André-de-Cubzac cemetery.

Jacques-Yves Cousteau(fr. Jacques-Yves Cousteau; June 11, 1910, Saint-André-de-Cubzac, Bordeaux, France - June 25, 1997, Paris, France) - the famous French explorer of the World Ocean, photographer, director, inventor, author of many books and films. He was a member of the French Academy. Commander of the Legion of Honor. Known as (fr. Commandant cousteau).

Together with Emil Gagnan, he developed and tested scuba gear in 1943.

Biography early years

Jacques-Yves Cousteau was born in the small town of Sainte-André-de-Cubzac in the Bordeaux wine region, the son of a lawyer Daniel and Elizabeth Cousteau. Daniel Cousteau was a lawyer and the family traveled a lot. The son became interested in water at an early age. At the age of 7, he began to suffer from chronic enteritis, so the family doctor did not recommend heavy loads. Due to illness, Cousteau became very skinny. During the First World War, Daniel Cousteau became unemployed, but after the war he again found work in the company of the American Eugene Higgins. He had to travel a lot, the brothers Pierre-Antoine and Jacques-Yves went to school. They lived in a boarding school for most of the year. Cousteau learned to swim early and loved the sea for the rest of his life. In 1920, Eugene Higgins returned to New York, and the Cousteau family followed him. Jacques-Yves and Pierre-Antoine went to school in the United States and learned to speak English fluently. There, during a family vacation in Vermont, the brothers made their first dives. In 1922 Higgins and the Cousteau Family returned to France. In the United States, Jacques-Yves became interested in mechanics and design. In France, he built a battery-powered car. This hobby helped him in his work in the future. With the money he saved and earned, Cousteau bought himself his first movie camera.

Although Jacques-Yves was interested in many things, study was not given to him. After some time, his parents decided to send him to a special boarding school, which he graduated with honors.

Army

In 1930 he entered the Brest Naval School. He was twenty-second, moreover, the group in which he studied was the first to sail around the world aboard the Jeanne d'Arc ship. He graduated from the military academy with the rank of ensign, was sent to the naval base in Shanghai, he also visited the USSR, where he took a lot of photographs, but almost all the materials were seized. Cousteau decided to go to the Naval Aviation Academy, the sky attracted him, but after a car accident on a mountain road he had to give up aviation. Cousteau broke several ribs and fingers on his left hand, injured his lungs, and his right arm was paralyzed. The rehabilitation course took eight months. For restoration in 1936 he entered as an instructor on the cruiser "Sufren", assigned to the port of Toulon. One day he went to the store and saw diving goggles. Diving into them, he realized that from now on his life belongs undividedly to the underwater kingdom.

* Cousteau's floating laboratory towed by the Calypso, 1964

Stages

In 1937 he married Simone Melchior, who bore him two sons, Jean-Michel (1938) and Philippe (1940-1979, died in the Catalina plane crash). In World War II, a member of the French resistance movement.

Since the early 1950s, Cousteau has been conducting oceanographic research with the Calypso (a decommissioned minesweeper of the British Royal Navy). Recognition came to Cousteau with the release of the book "In the world of silence" in 1953, co-authored with Frederic Dumas. The film, based on the book, won an Oscar and a Palme d'Or in 1956.

In 1957, Cousteau was appointed director of the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco. In 1973 he founded the non-profit Cousteau Society for the Conservation of the Marine Environment.

In 1991, a year after his wife Simone died from cancer, he married Francine Triplet. By that time, they already had a daughter, Diana (1979) and a son, Pierre (1981), born before marriage.

Cousteau died at the age of 87 from myocardial infarction as a result of a complication of a respiratory illness. He was buried in the family plot at the Saint-André-de-Cubzac cemetery.

* Jacques-Yves Cousteau preparing to test a new scuba gear, 1965

Marine research

According to his first book, "In the world of silence" Cousteau began diving using a mask, snorkel and fins, along with Frederic Dumas and Philippe Talle in 1938. In 1943, he tested the first prototype of a scuba gear, developed by him in conjunction with Emil Gagnan. This allowed for the first time to conduct long-term underwater research, which greatly contributed to the improvement of modern knowledge about the underwater world. Cousteau became the creator of waterproof cameras and lighting devices, and also invented the first underwater television system.

Biology

Before it became known about the ability of porpoises to echolocation, Cousteau assumed the possibility of its existence. In his first book, "In the world of silence" he said that his research vessel "Élie Monier" heading towards the Strait of Gibraltar and noticed a group of pigs following them. Cousteau changed the course of the ship a few degrees from the optimum, and the pigs followed the ship for a while, and then swam to the center of the strait. It was obvious that they knew where the optimal course lay, even if the people didn’t know. Cousteau concluded that cetaceans have something like sonar, which was at that time a relatively new element on submarines. He was right.

Heritage

Cousteau liked to call himself an "oceanographic technician". He was, in fact, an outstanding showman, educator and nature lover. His work opened the "blue continent" for many people.

His work also allowed for the creation of a new type of scientific communication, criticized at the time by some academics. The so-called "divulgationism", a simple way of exchanging scientific concepts, soon began to be used in other disciplines and became one of the most important characteristics of modern television broadcasting.

In 1950 he rented the ship Calypso from Thomas Loel Guinness for a symbolic one franc a year. The vessel was equipped with a mobile laboratory for research in the open ocean and underwater surveys.

From 1957 he was director of the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco.

In May 1985, Cousteau's crew acquired another vessel. This is a two-masted yacht Alcyone with an experimental turbosail using the Magnus effect for thrust.

Cousteau passed away on June 25, 1997. The Cousteau Society and its French partner, the Cousteau Command, founded by Jacques-Yves Cousteau, are still active today.

In his last years, after his second marriage, Cousteau became involved in a legal battle with his son Jean-Michel over the use of the name Cousteau... By order of the court, Jean-Michel Cousteau was forbidden to confuse his professional business and his father's non-profit endeavors.

In St. Petersburg, the name of Cousteau was named school number 4 with in-depth study of the French language.

* Jacques-Yves Cousteau aboard the Calypso, 1979

Rumors of converting to Islam

Despite rumors originally published in a number of Islamic media outlets, there is clear evidence that Cousteau never converted to Islam and was buried according to the Christian rite in a Catholic cemetery. An official letter from the Cousteau Foundation states: "We are absolutely certain that Commander Cousteau did not become a Mohammedan and that the rumors that are circulating have no basis.".

Awards

• Commander of the Legion of Honor
• Knight Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit
• Military cross 1939-1945
• Officer of the Order of Naval Merit
• Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters

Selected bibliography

• The Silent World (1953; with Frederic Dumas).
• The Living Sea (1963; with James Dagen).
• World Without Sun (1965).
• The Shark: Splendid Savage of the Sea (1970; with Philippe Cousteau).
• La vie et la mort des Coraux (1971; with Philippe Diole).
• Mighty monarch of sea (1972; with Philippe Diole).
• Dolphins (1975).
• La vie au bout du monde (1979; with Yves Paccale).
• Jacques Cousteau's Amazon Journey (1984; with Mose Richards).
• Jacques Cousteau: The Ocean World (1985)

Russian translations

• Cousteau J.-I., Dumas F. In the world of silence. Abbr. per. from English - M .: "Young Guard", 1957. - 221 p.
• Cousteau J.-I., Dumas F., Dagen J. In the world of silence; Living sea. Per. from English - M .: "Knowledge", 1966. - 462 p.
• Cousteau J.-I. A world without sun. Per. with French - L .: Gidrometeoizdat, 1967 .-- 96 p.
• Cousteau J.-I. Calypso and corals. Per. from English - M .: "Knowledge", 1974. - 63 p.
• Cousteau J.-I., Cousteau F. So that there are no secrets in the sea. Underwater research J.-I. Cousteau. Per. from English - M .: "Thought", 1974. - 191 p.
• Cousteau J.-I. The life and death of corals. Per. with French - L .: Gidrometeoizdat, 1975 .-- 176 p.
• Cousteau J.-I, Diolé F. Sunken Treasures. Abbr. per. with French - M .: "Progress", 1975. - 206 p.
• Cousteau J.-I., Dumas F. In the world of silence; Cousteau J.-I., Dagen J. Living Sea. Per. from English - M .: "Mysl", 1976. - 429 p.
• Cousteau J.-I., Diolé F. Mighty Lord of the Seas. Underwater research J.-I. Cousteau. Per. from English - M .: "Mysl", 1977. - 186 p.
• Cousteau J.-I., Diole F. Essays on the inhabitants of the underwater world. Octopus and squid. Per. from English - M .: "Knowledge", 1980. - 48 p.
• Cousteau J.-I., Pakkale I. Sea surprises. Per. with French - L .: Gidrometeoizdat, 1982 .-- 302 p.
• Cousteau J.-I., Pakkale I. Salmon, beavers, sea otters. Per. with French - L .: Gidrometeoizdat, 1983 .-- 285 p.
• Cousteau J.-I., Pakkale I. Life at the End of the Earth. Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, archipelago of the South Chilean islands. Per. with French - L .: Gidrometeoizdat, 1984 .-- 302 p.
• Cousteau J.-I., Pakkale I. In Search of Atlantis. Per. from French; V. Shcherbakov. Poseidon's golden palace. - M .: "Mysl", 1986. - 319 p.
• Cousteau J.-I., Cousteau F. The brilliant pirate; Cousteau J.-I., Diolé F. Mighty Lord. Per. from English - M .: "Mysl", 1996. - 350 p.
• Cousteau J.-I., Dumas F. In the world of silence; Cousteau J.-I., Dagen J. Living Sea. Per. from English - M .: "Armada", 1997. - 475 p. (Re-edition: Cousteau J.-I., Dumas F. In the world of silence; Cousteau J.-I., Dagen J. Living Sea. Transl. From English. - M .: "Armada-press", 2002. - 475 p.)
• Cousteau J.-I., Cousteau F. So that there are no secrets in the sea; Cousteau J.-I., Diolé F. Mighty Lord of the Seas. Per. from English - M .: "Armada", 1997. - 410 p (Re-edition: Cousteau J.-I., Cousteau F. So that there are no secrets in the sea; Cousteau J.-I., Diole F. Mighty Lord of the Seas. English - M .: "Armada-press", 2002. - 410 p.)
• Cousteau J.-I. A world without sun; Cousteau J.-I, Diolé F. Sunken Treasures. Per. with French - M .: "Armada", 1998. - 362 p.
• Cousteau J.-I., Dumas F. In the world of silence; Cousteau J.-I., Dagen J. Living Sea. Per. from English - M .: "AST", "Astrel", 2003. - 527 p.
• Cousteau J.-I., Cousteau F. Brilliant barbarian of the seas; Cousteau J.-I., Diolé F. Mighty Lord of the Seas. Per. from English L. Zhdanova, 2003 .-- 381 p.

Jacques-Yves Cousteau (French Jacques-Yves Cousteau; June 11, 1910, Saint-André-de-Kubzak, Bordeaux, France - June 25, 1997, Paris, France) - famous French explorer of the World Ocean, photographer, director, inventor, author many books and films. He was a member of the French Academy. Commander of the Legion of Honor. Known as Captain Cousteau (FR. Commandant Cousteau).

Together with Emil Gagnan, he developed and tested scuba gear in 1943.

If a person has the opportunity to lead an unusual life, he has no right to refuse it.

Cousteau Jacques-Yves

Born in Saint-André-de-Kubzack, near Bordeaux, in the family of a traveling merchant. The father constantly moved from place to place, and the son had to study in different schools. The family spent each summer in Royan, on the shores of the Bay of Biscay. Here the boy learned to swim early and loved the sea for the rest of his life. Constant relocations contributed to the broadening of his horizons, and had other positive aspects: in New York he learned to speak English, in Alsace he mastered the German language. The desire to change places, to see and experience new things - these qualities Cousteau clearly brought from childhood. Apparently, they led to the decision to enter the Naval Academy: her diploma made it possible to see the world without parting with the beloved sea element.

He was lucky: out of a thousand candidates, he entered the academy in twenty-second, he was doubly lucky: the group in which he studied was the first to sail around the world on the Jeanne d'Arc ship. After graduating from the Military Academy, he served at the naval base in Shanghai. Before him was a promising career as a naval officer. But going the beaten path would mean changing himself: Cousteau said goodbye to the fleet and entered the Academy of Naval Aviation. He was not destined to finish it - he got into a car accident on a mountain road, he had to give up aviation. It took years and his inherent tenacity for the hand, paralyzed as a result of damage to the radial nerve, to begin to work. In 1936 he became an instructor on the cruiser "Sufren", assigned to the port of Toulon. Once, when I saw waterproof glasses on sale, I bought them. Put on, put his face in the water - and "the civilized world disappeared at once," but the underwater world that opened before him took his breath away. Cousteau realized that henceforth his life belongs undividedly to the underwater kingdom.

He becomes a scuba diving pioneer. Creates a closed-type oxygen apparatus. Together with Gagnan, he is improving the scuba invented by Captain Leprier, together with specialists from the French Center for Underwater Research, he is constructing a "diving saucer" - a compact vessel for underwater research. During the Second World War, Cousteau was an active participant in the French Resistance, after which he returned to his beloved work. In the early 1950s, the old British minesweeper "Calypso" was purchased and converted for research work at sea. He made many oceanographic expeditions to the Atlantic, Indian Oceans, Red, Black, Arabian Seas and the Persian Gulf.

Having accepted the offer to head the Oceanographic Museum in Monaco, he moved there with his family and devoted himself entirely to oceanographic research. In the sixties, Cousteau carried out an extensive scientific program "Conchelf" aimed at researching, developing and "settling" the continental shelf zones. On the underwater cornice of the Shab-Rumi coral reef in the Red Sea, he installed the "Starfish" - a metal house designed for long-term residence of five aquanauts, and even lower, at a depth of 15 meters, "Raketu" - a cabin for two people. Using them as a base for underwater work, he conducted oceanographic research for a month, and the inhabitants of the Raketa descended to depths of 110-120 meters. During the experiments, valuable information was obtained about the inhabitants of the deep sea, but, according to Cousteau, "the most important thing was the exciting awareness that the sea has become our home."

In the fall of 1965, in the Mediterranean Sea, near Monaco, at a depth of 110 meters, a spherical house was erected, in which six aquanauts spent twenty-three days.

At the beginning of 1967, Cousteau embarked on a new scientific program - the study of life at different latitudes of the World Ocean and human relationships with it. In February, the Calypso, equipped with underwater filming equipment, television cameras and two single-seat submarines for diving up to 500 meters, left Marseille. The research was carried out in the Red Sea and the western Indian Ocean. Sharks were the main objects of research. Cousteau described the results of the expedition in detail in his books - "So that there are no secrets in the sea" and "Calypso" and corals ".

Jacques-Yves Cousteau(French Jacques-Yves Cousteau; June 11, 1910, Saint-André-de-Cubzac, Bordeaux, France - June 25, 1997, Paris, France)

The famous French explorer of the World Ocean, photographer, filmmaker, inventor, author of many books and films. He was a member of the French Academy. Commander of the Legion of Honor. Known as Captain Cousteau.
Together with Emil Gagnan, he developed and tested scuba gear in 1943.
Biography
Cousteau was born in Saint-André-de-Cubzac, the son of lawyer Daniel and Elisabeth Cousteau. In 1930 he joined the Navy as the head of the underwater research group. In 1937 he married Simone Melichor, from whom two sons were born, Jean-Michel (1938) and Philippe (1940-1979, died in the Catalina plane crash).
Since the early 1950s, Cousteau has been conducting oceanographic research with the help of the ship Calypso (a former American minesweeper). Recognition came to Cousteau with the release of the book "In the world of silence" in 1953, co-authored with Frederic Dumas. The film, based on the book, won an Oscar and a Palme d'Or in 1956.
In 1957, Cousteau was appointed director of the Oceanographic Museum in Monaco. In 1973 he founded the non-profit Cousteau Society for the Conservation of the Marine Environment.
In 1991, a year after his wife Simone died from cancer, he married Francine Triplet. By that time, they already had a daughter, Diana (1979) and a son, Pierre (1981), born before marriage.
Cousteau died at the age of 87 from myocardial infarction as a result of a complication of a respiratory illness. He was buried in the family plot at the Saint-André-de-Cubzac cemetery.
Marine research
According to his first book, In a World of Silence, Cousteau began diving into the water using a mask, snorkel and fins, along with Frederic Dumas and Philippe Talle in 1938. In 1943, he tested the first prototype of a scuba gear, developed by him in conjunction with Emil Gagnan. This allowed for the first time to conduct long-term underwater research, which greatly contributed to the improvement of modern knowledge about the underwater world. Cousteau became the creator of waterproof cameras and lighting devices, and also invented the first underwater television system.
Heritage
Cousteau liked to call himself an "oceanographic technician". He was, in fact, an outstanding showman, educator and nature lover. His work opened the "blue continent" for many people.
His work also allowed for the creation of a new type of scientific communication, criticized at the time by some academics. The so-called "divulgationism", a simple way of exchanging scientific concepts, soon began to be used in other disciplines and became one of the most important characteristics of modern television broadcasting.
In 1950 he rented the ship Calypso from Thomas Loel Guinness for a symbolic one franc a year. The vessel was equipped with a mobile laboratory for research in the open ocean and underwater surveys.
From 1957 he was director of the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco.
Cousteau passed away on June 25, 1997. The Cousteau Society and its French partner, the Cousteau Command, founded by Jacques-Yves Cousteau, are still active today.