The story behind scuba diving is a long and interesting one,
filled with intrigue, military prowess, incidents of drowning, ingenuity on the
part of inventors, tourism and exploration. The first written mentions of
human’s interest in what lies underneath the water is of course Homer’s
Odyssey, followed by another classic: Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the
Sea.
History of Scuba Diving
As said, the history of scuba diving is very long and it is
hard to ascertain what is and isn’t a true account of course. We will try to
give a brief overview below.
500BC in Scyllias, a Greek soldier is said to have been able
to dive from the ship of the Persian King Xerxes and hold his breath for several
hours. He was said to have used a hollow reed to breathe, effectively creating
a snorkel, which allowed him to warn his king of imminent danger or approaching
enemies.
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ancient scuba diver
Several years later, in 414BS, the story of Thucydides
appears which states that divers were able to swim to the bottom of the ocean
where they were able to remove underwater obstacles that were stopping their
ships from reaching the harbours. Some years after that, in 332BC, the great
Aristotle reported that Alexander the Great had been submerged in water in what
he described as a barrel of white glass whilst the siege of Tyre was taking
place.
Unsurprisingly, inventors have always been fascinated by
being able to breathe underwater, and many have spent years trying to design
scuba gear that would allow divers to stay in the water for several hours at a
time. Believe it or not, Leonardo da Vinci actually designed some prototypes.
The genius that was Leonardo da Vinci – who also designed the first helicopter
for example – turned out to be on to something here.
From the 1700s onwards, patents were being issued for
devices known as “rebreathing devices”. However, the first design that actually
worked and was completely functional was the one developed and designed by the
late Jacques Cousteau, who became world famous for his underwater world
exploration. His design was developed in the 1940s.
The History of Scuba Diving as a Recreational Sport
Jacques Cousteau is also said to be the birth father of
recreational scuba diving. In the 1950s, he wrote history in a book that led to
people becoming seriously interested in scuba diving, creating a demand for the
development of recreational diving, which was eventually made possible by the
YMCA and the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI).
Scuba Diving for Regular People
Scuba diving was initially only possible for people that
were in the military or for people who were involved in exploration of some
kind. However, in 1959, the YMCA started offering diving courses for regular
people, meaning that anybody could do it. Unsurprisingly, it was an instant
hit, with people all over the world now having diving licences, travelling all
over to find the most interesting dive sites.
Scuba Diving in the Military
Initially, scuba diving was only available for people in the
military, so called “frog men” in particular. The military has always been
trying to find ways to get behind enemy lines without being seen and this is
why scuba diving was initially developed. History tells us that this practice
goes back as far as the Trojan wars, where divers were able to sabotage enemy
vessels by diving to these vessels and boring holes in the hulls. The Greek
military in ancient times tried to construct complicated underwater defense
mechanisms to try to keep the enemy away from the shores.
The Italians used scuba diving extensively during the Second
World War. It was the American soldiers, however, that coined the name frogmen,
as their diving gear made them look like frogs.
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