Most of the history of diving take place after the 14th century as many discoveries were made. Several ambitious inventors presented and demonstrated their machines, apparatus, and devices. General knowledge of many aspects of diving increased with a better understanding of physics, mathematics, physiology. Crafting became more advanced and industrialized and new materials became available.
Kevin Brown achieve 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..More about
James Cameron explore the deepest point of the ocean
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..More about
Deepest dive on atmospheric suit by a US Navy diver
The deepest dive to date in an atmospheric suit was executed by US Chief Navy soldier Daniel P. Jackson. In 2006, he descended to 610 meters / 2000 feet on..More about
Liberty Bell 7 spacecraft recovered in the deepest commercial recovery operation
The Liberty Bell 7 spacecraft recovered in the deepest commercial search and recovery mission in 1999. The spacecraft was laying on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean at a depth..More about
ANDI or American Nitrox Divers, Inc. is founded
In 1988, ANDI or the Association of Nitrox Divers Inc. is formed to fill the education gap needed for the safe use of other breathing gases than air. Dick Rutkowski..More about
Orca EDGE the first dive computer commercially available
Orca introduced in 1983, the first commercially electronic dive computer named the EDGE. Orca had a hard time to keep up with the demand from the divers. Their production got..More about
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..More about
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..More about
Maurice Fenzy start selling the ABJL
The Fenzy ABJL or Adjustable Buoyancy Life Jacket is the first commercially available buoyancy compensators for sport divers. Made by french diver Maurice Fenzy, it became available on the market in..More about
The first submerged circumnavigation of the world by a submarine, the USS Triton
It was under the codename of Operation Sandblast that, in 1960, the USS Triton (SSRN-586), a nuclear-powered submarine executed the first submerged circumnavigation of the world. It followed the same..More about
Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh reaches Challenger Deep inside the Trieste
In 1960, Jacques Piccard and Lieutenant Don Walsh, USN, descended to the bottom at the Challenger Deep, the deepest known point in the ocean (about 10900 m or 35802 ft,..More about
The Silent World, first film to show the underwater in color
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..More about
The first single hose open-circuit scuba set
In 1952, an Australian named Ted Eldred start his work on the first single hose open-circuit scuba in Melbourne. The Porpoise CA-1 for Compressed Air model 1 came as a..More about
First Issue of Skin Diver Magazine dedicated to diving
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..More about
Because of the hostile environment and the physiological limits of humans, progress in diving has slowed down. Even in the age of electronics, computers, wireless and miniaturization, the ocean remains the least explored places on earth. For regular divers, we can say that more people have walked on the moon than venturing deeper than 300 meters.
This timeline will take you through many and most of the important moments in the history of diving. Great people invented equipment, others were doing research in decompression theory. Some are important achievements, some ended in tragic ways. But they all made diving possible in the way we know it today.