Jacques-Yves was born in Saint-Andre-de-Dubzac, France, to Daniel and Elizabeth Cousteau on June 11, 1910. Cousteau always loved the water and in his early teens, he became interested in machines. At the age of 11, Cousteau built a model crane and at 13, he built a battery-operated car. Also in his early teens, Cousteau became fascinated with films. He saved his money and bought a home movie camera.

In high school, Cousteau became bored with school and began to cause trouble. As a result, his parents sent him to a strict boarding school. Cousteau excelled in this new environment and upon graduation, he entered the Ecole Navale (Naval Academy) in Brest. In 1933, Cousteau joined the French Navy as a gunnery officer. It was during this time that he began his underwater explorations and began working on a breathing machine for longer dives.



In 1937, Cousteau married Simone Melchoir, and they had two sons, Jean-Michel and Phillipe. Two years after their marriage, Cousteau fought for the French in World War II. He spent time as a spy and was awarded several medals. During the war, Cousteau still found time to continue his underwater work. In 1943, he and French engineer Emile Gagnan perfected the aqualung, which allowed a diver to stay underwater for several hours. Divers used the aqualung to located and remove enemy mines after World War II.

Cousteau was named a capitaine de corvette of the French navy in 1948, and two years later he became president of the French Oceanographic Campaigns. That same year, Cousteau purchased the ship Calypso to further his explorations. To finance his trips and increase public awareness of his undersea investigations, Cousteau produced numerous films and published many books. His films include The Silent World (1956) and World Without Sun (1966). Both won Academy Awards for best documentary. His books include The Living Sea (1963), Dolphins (1975), and Jacques Cousteau: The Ocean World (1985).



Because of his many projects, Cousteau retired from the French navy. In 1957, he became director of the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, founded the Underseas Research Group at Toulon, and headed the Conshelf Saturation Dive Program. The Conshelf program was an experiment in which men lived and worked underwater for extended periods of time.

In 1968, Cousteau was asked to make a TV series. For the next 8 years, The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau introduced the public to a world of sharks, whales, dolphins, sunken treasure, and coral reefs. In 1974, Cousteau started the Cousteau Society to protect ocean life. The membership of this non-profit group has grown to include more than 300,000 members worldwide. Cousteau was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Reagan in 1985 and in 1989, he was honored by France with membership in the French Academy.



http://www.incwell.com/Biographies/Cousteau.html

Cousteau's 60-year odyssey with the sea -- much of it on his famous boat the Calypso -- was more than a great adventure. He co-invented the aqualung, developed a one-person, jet-propelled submarine and helped start the first manned undersea colonies.



The life of Jacques Cousteau
"When you dive, you begin to feel that you're an angel," the environmentalist and scuba pioneer once said.

But the bespectacled, wiry Cousteau, often wearing his trademark red wool cap, became a household name primarily through his hugely popular television series, "The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau," and his many documentaries.

"I think what he will be remembered for most in history is the way he connected with regular people and brought the mystery and beauty of oceans into our personal lives,"



CALYPSO was built as a mine-sweeper during World War II at the Ballard Marine Railway Yards, along the Seattle Ship Canal at the foot of 24th Avenue NW in Seattle, WA, USA. Her hull number was J-826, and she was launched on the 21 of March, 1942. She was christened by a young girl, Isobel Prentice, who's father was shipyard foreman at Ballards.

A total of 11 YMS ships were built at Ballards during the war; J-826 was the second hull completed. She was given the YMS minesweeper designation, and then sent to England under the Lend-Lease policy, where she was given a BMS number (British Mine Sweeper) and sent to service in the Mediterranean. At the end of the war she was moved from Naples to Malta, and returned to the US Navy. She was sold in 1949 and used as a car ferry at Malta; it was her new owner that named her CALYPSO. Jacques-Yves Cousteau came across her for sale in 1950 and arranged for her use as a filming and dive platform. She was actually purchased for Cousteau's use by Loël Guinness, of the Irish brewing family. CALYPSO has been leased back to Cousteau and the Cousteau Society for a token annual payment ever since. After her initial refitting, she made her first expedition, to the Red Sea, in June 1951.

On January 11, 1996 the Calypso sank in Singapore harbor. In his last years, Cousteau was involved in a legal battle with his son, Jean-Michael over the use of the Cousteau name. Cousteau died on June 25, 1997.



CALYPSO at the Marine Museum of La Rochelle, France, 7 November 2002, awaiting restoration. She is tied alongside FRANCE 1, a weather ship in the collection of the museum.



CALYPSO's stern, November 2002. There are tantalizing suggestions of what once was, still visible despite being in storage for eight years and having been damaged heavily in Singapore. The compressed gasses equipment for recharging aqualung tanks is still bolted to her port after-deck, beside the diving locker and its now empty racks for tanks. On the starboard after-deck is a rack that once held deep-water sampling bottles for taking chemical and biological specimens at depth - one bottle still remains in the rack, located beside a small winch for the sampling cable. Most of her radio antennas and other deck-mounted equipment is gone, but there is still a GPS (global positioning system) antenna bolted to a mast protruding above her deckhouse, starboard amidships. Particularly evocative for me was seeing the black metal diver's platform still attached to her transom. The platform is mounted on large hinges, and can be swung down to provide a near-water-level perch for swimmers and divers. A large hydraulic crane once sat on her port stern quarter, and was used to launch and retrieve large objects such as the Diving Saucer.

Photos by D. Galbraith.

http://www.hwcn.org/~ae621/favorites/sh_ca.htm#y2003

Calypso - Tribute song

To sail on a dream on a crystal clear ocean
To ride on the crest of a wild raging storm
To work in the service of life and the living
In search of the answers to questions unknown
To be part of the movement and part of the growing
Part of beginning to understand

Aye, calypso, the places you’ve been to
The things that you’ve shown us
The stories you tell
Aye, calypso, I sing to your spirit
The men who have served you
So long and so well

Like the dolphin who guides you
You bring us beside you
To light up the darkness and show us the way
For though we are strangers in your silent world
To live on the land we must learn from the sea
To be true as the tide
And free as the wind-swell
Joyful and loving in letting it be

Aye, calypso, the places you’ve been to
The things that you’ve shown us
The stories you tell
Aye, calypso, I sing to your spirit
The men who have served you
So long and so well

Aye, calypso, the places you’ve been to
The things that you’ve shown us
The stories you tell
Aye, calypso, I sing to your spirit
The men who have served you
So long and so well

Words and music by John Denver

http://www.sing365.com/music/Lyric.nsf/songUnid/DB07DC787B667C49482568850007D1AB



[This message was edited on 10-12-03 at 11:03 AM.]

Interesting. I'd forgotten that the Calypso had sank.
Also, his son's death was a devastating loss for him.
His younger son, Philippe, whom he appointed as his successor, was killed in a seaplane crash in 1979
Philippe Cousteau Foundation.

Father of the Silent World
In Memory of Captain Jacques-Yves Cousteau
June 11, 1910 - June 25, 1997
By Hillol Ray

At the turn of 20th century, Mother Nature was crying -
To protect her "children" while the tears were drying !
'Cause dumping in oceans and chemicals in air began to kill,
The bounties of nature and the silent seas that sent the chill !

Mother was desperate and praying for solution -
To stop such torture from all types of pollution !
All of a sudden, the kind Lord filled her prayer through a very close friend -
By sending Jacques-Yves Cousteau, as a Savior on earth, to set new trend !

Born in Paris, with a true love for the Mother Nature and the sea -
Jacques was the "Man" who opened our minds with special key !
Through the years and throughout the world, he had to swim -
To preach: cruelty to nature is nothing but a man-made whim !

Today our beloved Jacques is in the heaven but the legacy lives on -
And reminds his passions for nature and sea, from dusk until dawn !

Hello, Jacques, please accept our deepest love and respect,
Your absence today is so unbelievable and really heartfelt !
The marine explorers will always keep 'Special Spot' for you,
'Cause your creations are immortal and draw the global view !

You achieved your spot through long debates and enormous tolls -
And they are still so vivid, around the world, in everyone's souls !
Via untiring effort, you taught us to protect Mother Nature and the sea,
While opening the doors to our environments with your "magic" key !

We know, you have brought the "world under the sea" for millions to view -
From the rocky deserts to the ageless grass, covered with the morning dew !
Your zest for silent seas won global debates on behalf of the seas and nature
So the dolphins, oysters and coral reefs are alive today, to display caricature !

Since the early 50's, your research vessel 'Calypso' stirred up the hearts of all,
And sea lovers throughout the world remember you always without your call !
Your "Shows" of the undersea worlds were didactic and entertaining as well -
To the viewers of all televisions, about creatures in the sea where they dwell !

Aqua-lung, the brainchild of yours is still playing happily around all nations -
Better known as "Scuba", it is widely used globally, in marine explorations !
You struggled to protect marine lives and prevent pollution in the air -
To make the world a better place for all generation and safe to share !

From us, today, Jacques, you are wondering freely very far away -
But offering us lesson while keeping your sea-loving mind at bay !
Your strength and the struggle for nature are felt everywhere -
Around the globe, in oceans, in soil, and in open atmosphere !

Jacques, be assured that "The Silent World" will be here at all the time,
To direct us in missions under the sea and even when the winds chime !
Today, we float our broken mind immersed in dew moistened tear -
And display our deep affections for you, Jacques, without any fear !

We will continue on your untiring efforts with blindfolded eye,
Without any set back or hesitation, and uncompromised vie !
Remember, our hearts do cry alone in the daylight and darkness,
But vividly remember your tender love with the natural harness !

The Cousteau Society has neatly placed your immortal name on the concrete stone,
And the world is really blessed with each and every touch of your intriguing bone !
So before conclusion we love to say this,
Although we know it's very true as it is -

You traveled all the oceans around the world for over forty years -
And removed the agonies of all sea creatures by wiping their tears !
Your talents and innovations stunningly span around the earth,
Although the Bordeaux in France was the place of your birth !

Jacques, you were the "Citizen of the World", and not only a French,
So your absence will be surely missed and cause our eyes to drench !
But forever, you will shine like a viable Father of The Silent World under the sea,
While our lonely hearts will lit up to say, "Au revoir, Jacques. We love thee" !!!
http://www.wowzone.com/cousteau.htm