Media & Culture – All Things Diving

First recorded death in an accident with a submarine

Sadly on June 22, 1774, John Day, a carpenter and wheelwright became the first recorded death in a submersible. A bet between Day and Christopher Blake, who noticed his submarines before, was the trigger to attempt the dive.

Days's Submarine stone ballast 1772 Illustration from Murray Fraser Sueter.jpg — Days’s Submarine stone ballast 1772 Illustration from Murray Fraser Sueter

Day had previously experimented with other builds where he successfully submerged to 9m/30ft before. He was betting he could stay up to 12 hours at a depth of 40m/130ft. Day overestimated the ballast required to bring down his watertight chamber and sank to the bottom with no hope of rescue.

USS Holland The first commissioned submarine

On the 12th of October 1900, The USS Holland (SS-1) became the first commissioned submarine. Build by John Philip Holland in the earlier years, then named Holland VI was the 6th iteration of the design then. It was purchased for $150,000 on April 11th, 1900. At the christening, Holland VI after some modifications was renamed USS Holland (SS-1).

Photo of the USS Holland SS-1 The first commissioned submarine — USS Holland SS-1 The first commissioned submarine

The Silent World, first film to show the underwater in color

Original Film Poster of The Silent World - Le monde du silence

Jacques-Yves Cousteau and assistant director Louis Malle, a young filmmaker of 23, shot The Silent World in 1956. It is one of the first films to use underwater cinematography to show the ocean depths in color. The movie received an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and the Palme d’Or award at the Cannes Film Festival on the same year.

Divers Alert Network or DAN is founded

Divers Alert Network or DAN was founded in 1980 as a non-profit organization. Then named NDAN or National Diving Accident Network, its main goal was the establishment of a 24-hour emergency hotline for with quick access to physicians who specialized in the recognition, care, transport and recompression therapy of diving injuries.

Kevin Brown achieve the deepest dive under the ice

Kevin Brown preparing for the deepest dive under the ice

On January 27th, 2018, Kevin Brown achieved a depth of 134 meters / 454 feet diving under the ice. The dive for a research project of artefacts left by native people. It took place in the Lake Mazinaw in the Province of Ontario, Canada.

Hannes Keller reaches 300m / 1000ft

Swiss diver Hannes Keller set a new depth record off the coast of Santa Catalina Island, California. On the 3rd of December 1962 together with Peter Small descended to 300 meters / 1000 feet. This record dive turned out to be tragic with the loss of Peter Small and one of the support diver, a young student at UCLA.

James Cameron explore the deepest point of the ocean

Deepsea Challenger deep diving submersible of James Cameron

The Canadian film director James Cameron descent to 10898.4 meters / 35,756 feet underwater at the command of the Deepsea Challenger submarine. This was accomplished in 2012 at Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean also known as the deepest point of the ocean.

Condert, the first recorded fatality on scuba

Mechanics' Magazine, October 31, 1835 - Condert diving apparatus fatality description

Charles Condert made many dives in the East River around Brooklyn using his scuba until one day of August 1832. His body was hauled back to the surface, Condert had died using his scuba set. He became the first documented diver to die using a self-contained underwater breathing apparatus. Further development on his invention came to a halt with this tragic event.

First Issue of Skin Diver Magazine dedicated to diving

Cover of the first edition of Skin Diver magazine in December 1951

In December 1951 the first issue of Skin Diver Magazine appeared in the USA. The magazine ran until November 2002. As it started the magazine included all kinds of diving but was mostly related to spear fishing.

John Lethbridge sucessfully salvage wrecks with his diving barrel

Depiction of John Lethbridge diving barrel around 1715

In 1715, an english wool merchant, John Lethbridge, invented a diving barrel. Using his invention, he successfully salvage from several wrecks from which he got rich. One of his better-known salvage is in Madeira from the Dutch Slot ter Hooge. A vessel which had sunk with over three tons of silver on board.