Biography
Jacques-Yves Cousteau, AC (11 June 1910 – 25 June 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, scientist, inventor, filmmaker, photographer, innovator, conservationist, author, and researcher who studied the sea and all forms of life in water. He co-invented the first successful open-circuit self-contained underwater breathing apparatus, ("SCUBA"), called the Aqua-Lung, which assisted him in producing some of the first underwater documentaries. He also pioneered marine conservation and was a member of the Académie française. From 1966 to 1976, he hosted The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, a documentary television series, presented on American commercial television stations. A second documentary series, The Cousteau Odyssey, ran from 1977 to 1982 on public television stations. In his first book, The Silent World: A Story of Undersea Discovery and Adventure, he surmised the existence of the echolocation abilities of porpoises. The book was adapted into an underwater documentary called The Silent World. Co-directed by Cousteau and Louis Malle, it was one of the first films to use underwater cinematography to document the ocean depths in color. The film won the 1956 Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and remained the only documentary to do so until 2004 (when Fahrenheit 9/11 received the award). It was also awarded the Academy Award for Best Documentary in 1957. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Awards & recognition
- National Inventors Hall of Fame · 2010
- Catalonia International Prize · 1991
- Honorary Companion of the Order of Australia · 1990
- honorary doctorate of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel · 1989
- Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit · 1985
Show all 26 awards →
- Presidential Medal of Freedom · 1985
- Grand Officer of the National Order of Merit · 1979
- honorary doctor of Harvard University · 1979
- Sierra Club John Muir Award · 1976
- BAFTA Fellowship · 1975
- Commander of the Legion of Honour · 1972
- Howard N. Potts Medal · 1970
- Founder’s Medal · 1963
- Academy Award — Best Live Action Short Film · 1960
- Academy Award — Best Documentary Feature Film · 1957
- Benjamin Franklin Medal
- Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres
- Croix de guerre 1939–1945
- Genesis Award
- Great Gold medal of the Société d'Encouragement au Progrès
- honorary doctor of Brandeis University
- honorary doctorate of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
- honorary doctorate of the Polytechnic University of Valencia
- Officer of the Order of Maritime Merit
- Academy Award — Best Live Action Short Film · 1960 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Documentary Feature Film · 1957 · nominated
