When was scuba invented? Many people will say the 1860s, but when was scuba really invented? Let's start with the earliest scuba equipment. Emile Gagnan, Jacques Cousteau, and other early pioneers have all played important roles in the evolution of scuba diving. They helped pave the way for freedom of navigation, but who is responsible for its development? And who was the first to regulate scuba diving in the world?
Jacques Cousteau
Jacques Cousteau, who was part of a program called Conshelf Saturation Dive in the 1960s that sought to determine if living underwater for extended periods of time was possible, participated in this program. Five divers took part in the experiments. They were documented in a film called World Without Sun. The goal of ocean exploration has become much more achievable since the advent of scuba gear. Nowadays, robotic undersea bots perform this task, and Cousteau’s documentary won Academy Award #3 for Best Documentary.
Emile Gagnan
Scuba was invented in the 1940s, when a French engineer named Emile Gagnan was working on valve designs for a compressed gas company in Paris. He saw that divers could be at risk of suffering from nitrogen narcosis. This is a condition in which people can become insane and experience extreme pain. Gagnan was joined by Cousteau in the design of a machine that would allow people to survive under water. They knew that oxygen-pressure regulation would be the key to survival.
1860s
Henry A. Fleuss - a London-based diver engineer - invented Scuba in 1861. Fleuss' design consisted of a diving mask with a spout that could be filled with compressed air. It also contained a bag that could hold a caustic potassium solution. This sealed circuit allowed divers to inhale air for up three hours.
1860s scuba regulator
The 1860s scuba regulators weren't much different from current technology. They were designed by Benoit Rouquayrol and Auguste Denayrouze. The demand valve designed by Benoit Rouquayrol was initially used in smoky areas and poisonous mines. However, it was later modified for diving. In 1865, the Rouquayrol-Denayrouze apparatus became a mass-produced product and was adopted as a French Navy standard. The French diving community didn't accept the invention of this regulator.
Davis Submerged Escape Mechatronus
R. H. Davis developed the Davis Submerged Rescue Equipment, or Davis Scuba, in 1914. It contained a rubber breathing & buoyancy bag, a barium hydroxide canister, and a steel pressurecylinder with 56 litres of oxygen at 120 bars. The pressure of the water around the user charged the cylinder, which was connected to the breathing bag. The Davis scuba rig was the first commercially-available rebreather, and it was used for submarine escapes in the First World War. It was also used in industrial diving.
Scuba goggles from the 1860s
In the 1860s, diving gear was less sophisticated than it is today. Before the invention of scuba glasses, divers relied on wooden or plastic diving helmets. These were unsuitable for the water's pressure. However, two wealthy families had experimented with underwater exploration in their youth, and Otis Barton was one of them. Barton used a makeshift helmet as a diving helmet to swim around Massachusetts' waters and was weighed down by rocks.
Deane brothers' scuba system
In 1829, the Deane brothers began to test their underwater apparatus. The scuba equipment consisted of a helmet with a breathing device. The Deane brothers' system was a successful invention and soon the two brothers had a booming business. Their invention led to the first diving manual, The Method of Using Deane Brothers' Patent Diving Apparatus, which detailed the functions of the apparatus, as well as provided instructions for safety.
1860s scuba reservoir
Benoit Rouquayrol first developed compressed air as a scuba reservoir in the 1860s. He had already designed the demand regulator' that could be used underground in mines and rooms with smoke. Auguste Denayrouze modified Rouquayrol's design for underwater diving in 1864. This device's principle is still the same. Modern scuba regulators use a similar system.