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.
The CDG or Cave Diving Group, the world’s oldest continuing diving club
The CDG started not so long after April 1946 when Balcombe and Sheppard dedicated their time at Ogof Ffynnon Ddu in South Wales. They started recruiting others cave divers after being..More about
The Aqua-lung regulator set commercialized by La Spirotechnique
Mass production of Aqua-Lung double hose regulators started in 1946 with La Spirotechnique, a branch of the Air Liquide company. Their first model the CG-45 was named after Cousteau and..More about
The first operational dive using helium-oxygen or Heliox
On May 27, 1939, Owen P. Churchill made the first operational helium-oxygen or Heliox dive. The rescue and salvage of the submarine Squalus has been one of the greatest achievement..More about
Georges Commeinhes patent the first demand regulator on an open-circuit set
In 1937, Georges Commeinhes son of René adapted the breathing apparatus from his father for underwater uses. It was in the form of a two-cylinder open-circuit and had a demand..More about
Georges Beuchat opens the first underwater activities equipment manufacturer
It was in 1934, in Marseilles, France that Beuchat, the world’s first equipment manufacturing company for underwater activities opened its doors. Because 24 years Georges Beuchat was a spear fishing enthusiast,..More about
The “Fernez-Le Prieur” is the first european made scuba
In 1926 at the swimming pool of Tourelles in Paris, the “Fernez-Le Prieur”, the European made scuba or self-contained underwater breathing apparatus was first demonstrated. The set was composed of a..More about
Research on helium oxygen breathing mixtures starts
It was in the year 1924 that research on helium oxygen mixtures as a breathing gas really started. Tests were conducted in laboratory on animals by the chemist Joel Henry..More about
The “Ohgushi’s Peerless Respirator”, the first scuba
In 1916, Japan, Riichi Watanabi and the blacksmith Kinzo Ohgushi invented the first scuba, the “Ohgushi’s Peerless Respirator. It could be used as a surfaced supplied unit or from steel..More about
Louis de Corlieu demonstrate his fins to the French Navy
In 1914, Frenchman Louis de Corlieu made the first public demonstrations of his fins or “propulseurs de nage” as he called them. Being capitaine de corvette (Lieutenant Commander) in the..More about
Haldane and the first staged decompression tables
In 1908, The Prevention of Compressed-air Illness published by John Scott Haldane, Arthur Boycott and Guybon Damant covers the detailed studies of Leonard Hill and their own on the cause and symptoms..More about
First decompression tables released to the public
Haldane tables were adopted by the Admiralty Deep Diving committee of the Royal Navy after his report in 1908. It was also decided that they would be published and released..More about
Haldane build the first compression chamber
It was in the year 1907 that Haldane build the first decompression chamber, aimed to help with the safety of deep-sea divers by allowing him to test his theories. In the..More about
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..More about
The first underwater photography book
The first underwater photography book, “La photographie sous-marine et les progrès de la photographie” was published in 1900. The name translated as The Underwater Photography and the Advances in Photography..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.