Jacques-Yves Cousteau in 1976.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau (11 June 1910 – 25 June 1997) was a French naval officer,
explorer, ecologist, filmmaker, scientist, photographer
and researcher who studied the sea and all forms of life in water. He co-developed the aqua-lung, pioneered marine
conservation and was a member of the Académie française.
Cousteau was born in Saint-André-de-Cubzac, Gironde, to Daniel and Élisabeth Cousteau. He is generally known in France as le commandant Cousteau
("Commander Cousteau"). Worldwide, he was commonly known as Jacques Cousteau or Captain Cousteau.
Brief Personal history
Jacques-Yves Cousteau was born in France to Daniel Cousteau (a lawyer) and Élisabeth
Cousteau.
He died at the age of 87 of a heart attack while recovering from a respiratory
illness. He is buried in the Cousteau family plot at Saint-André-de-Cubzac Cemetery, Saint-André-de-Cubzac, France.
His brother, Pierre-Antoine
Cousteau, was an influential right-wing, antisemitic French writer and polemicist. During the German Occupation of France (1940-1944), he actively collaborated with the infamous and virulently pro-Nazi
journal Suis Partout. According to Violet's biography (Cousteau, Une
Biographie, Paris, Fayard, 1993) Jacques-Yves Cousteau seemed to have shared in his brother's antisemitism, if only for a
while—and probably out of conformism, because antisemitism was quite common at the time among French Catholic, traditionalist
families, still reeling from the Dreyfus Affair.
Marine exploration
According to his first book, The Silent World, Cousteau started
skindiving—with goggles, snorkel, and fins with Freedéric Dumas and Philippe Taillz in
1938. In 1943, he tried out the first prototype aqualung,—designed by Cousteau and
Emile Gagnan, which made lengthy underwater exploration possible for the first time.
Although Cousteau and Taillez were naval officers, somehow the Navy paid little attention to their underwater activities.
Biology
Before the echolocation abilities of "porpoises" were officially discovered, Cousteau
suggested that they might exist. In his first book, The Silent World (1953, pp. 206-207), he reported that his research
vessel, the Élie Monier, was heading to the Straits of Gibraltar and noticed
a group of porpoises following them. Cousteau changed course a few degrees off the optimal course to the center of the strait,
and the porpoises followed for a few minutes, then diverged toward mid-channel again. It was obvious that they knew where the
optimal course lay, even if the humans didn't. Cousteau concluded that the cetaceans had something like sonar, which was a relatively new feature on submarines. He was right.
Marine conservation
In October 1960, a large amount of radioactive waste
was going to be discarded in the sea by the European Atomic Energy
Community. Cousteau organised a publicity campaign which gained wide popular support. The train carrying the waste was
stopped by women and children sitting on the railway, and it was sent back to its origin. The risk was avoided. During this, a
French government man had said falsely to a newspaper that Cousteau had approved the dump; Cousteau managed to get the newspaper
to issue a correction. In November 1960 in Monaco, an official
visit by the French president Charles de Gaulle turned into a debate on the events of
October 1960 and on nuclear experiments in general. The French ambassador already had suggested that Prince Rainier avoid the subject, but the president allegedly asked Cousteau in a friendly
manner to be kind toward nuclear researchers, to which Cousteau allegedly replied: "No sir, it is your researchers that ought to
be kind toward us."
In 1973, along with his two sons and Frederick Hyman, who was the first President, he created
the Cousteau Society for the Protection of Ocean Life; it now has more than 300,000 members.
In 1977, together with Peter Scott, he received the
UN International Environment prize.
In 1985, he received the Presidential Medal of
Freedom from Ronald Reagan.
In 1992, he was invited to Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, for the United Nations' International Conference on Environment and Development, and then
he became a regular consultant for the UN and the World Bank.lo
Legacy
Cousteau liked to call himself an "oceanographic technician." He was, in reality, a sophisticated showman, teacher, and lover
of nature. His work permitted many people to explore the resources of the "blue continent."
His work also created a new kind of scientific communication, criticised at the time by some academics. The so-called
"divulgationism," a simple way of sharing scientific concepts, was soon employed in other disciplines and became one of the most
important characteristics of modern TV broadcasting.
In 1975, folk singer John Denver composed the song
"Calypso" as a tribute to Cousteau and his research ship Calypso. The song reached the number-one position on the Billboard
100 charts.
In his last years, after marrying again, Cousteau became involved in a legal battle with his son Jean-Michel over the use of the Cousteau name, resulting in Jean-Michel Cousteau being ordered by
the court not to encourage confusion between his for-profit business and his father's non-profit endeavours. On January 11, 1996,
the Calypso sank in Singapore harbour. Cousteau died on June 25, 1997. The Cousteau Society and its French counterpart
l'Équipe Cousteau, which Jacques-Yves Cousteau founded, are still active today.
Pop culture tributes and references
In episode 8, season 1 of "Flight of the Conchords" (2007) Bret Mckenzie mentions "Jacques Cousteau" in the duo's 1960 French
parody song, "Foux Da Fa Fa".
In the 14 May 2007 episode of TNT's Inside the NBA, Shaquille O'Neal requested that he be
addressed from that point on as "Shaq Cousteau".
The 2004 film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou directed
by Wes Anderson, is regarded as both an homage to and a send-up of Cousteau's career. It
includes an end credit that reads "In memory of Jacques-Yves Cousteau and with gratitude to the Cousteau Society, which was not
involved in the making of this film."
The John Denver song "Calypso" is a tribute to
Cousteau. It was first released on the album Windsong in 1975.
In summer of 1997, just after Captain Cousteau died, John Denver wrote another song in tribute to his late friend's effect on
the world, called "Blue Water World." This song was never officially recorded, as Denver himself died later that same year.
Gwar wrote a tribute song to Jacques-Yves Cousteau.
In Star Trek: Insurrection, a shuttlecraft (Captain's Yacht)—carried
aboard USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-E—bears his name.
In the Farscape episode "Crichton Kicks", regarding Sikozu's Leviathan-hunting
contract Crichton says "So, you just Jacques Cousteau your way upstream to where they die."
Two New Age composers, Vangelis (who was heavily
involved with Cousteau in the 1990s) and Jean Michel Jarre, released two albums
including original numbers honoring Jacques-Yves Cousteau, titled Cousteau's Dreams (2000) and Waiting for Cousteau (1990), respectively.
The French protagonist in the 1963 film The Pink Panther was named
Inspector Jacques Clouseau. He was never seen underwater.
In an episode of the TV show Friends, Phoebe thinks she has subconsciously developed a crush on Jacques Cousteau.
In an episode of the cartoon TV show Pinky and the Brain, Brain claims to
be Jacques Cousteau when his submarine is radioed and asked who was driving it.
In an episode of the Earthworm Jim cartoon, titled "The Sword of
Righteousness", Psy-Crow remarks to Jim (just before squashing him with a spectral hand): "You're goin' down like Jacques
Cousteau!".
In an episode of The Tracey Ullman Show first aired on March 8, 1989, on The Simpsons
short "Bathtime", Bart Simpson mimics Cousteau in the bathtub, calling himself "Bart
Simpseau".
In the movie Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Courteney Cox's character corrects her boss's mistake of calling a dolphin a fish instead of a mammal.
Angry, he retorts, "Thank you, Miss Jacques Cousteau".
American poet Adrienne Rich, poem "Diving into the
Wreck," published in 1973, to Cousteau and his "assiduous team".
The Incubus song "Nice to Know You" features the lyric "Deeper than the deepest
Cousteau would ever go".
The Blue Öyster Cult song "Perfect Water" features the lyric "Do you know Jacques
Cousteau, when they said on the radio that he hears bells in random order, deep beneath the perfect water?"
The Jurassic 5 song "Red Hot" features the lyric "The Jacques Cousteau with flow".
The Wu-Tang Clan song "Da Mystery of Chessboxin'" features the lyric "Jacques Cousteau
could never get this low," sung by Ol' Dirty Bastard. A Jedi Mind Tricks song, "Get
This Low," samples the line.
The Andrew Bird song "Lull" features the lyric "Being alone/It can be quite romantic/Like
Jacques Cousteau/Underneath the Atlantic".
The Ukrainian band 5'nizza song "Морячок" (lit.
sailor) features the lyric in Russian "Как Жак-Ив
Кусто/Километров на сто/В батискафе пьет Нескафе..." (roughly translated, "Like Jacques-Yves Cousteau/100 kilometers below/In the
bathyscaphe he drinks Nescafé...")
An Erasure single Boy (2006) contains instrumental track entitled "Jacques
Cousteau".
Zoe Lewis has written a song named Jacques Cousteau, which is on her album Fishbone, Wishbone, Funnybone.
The Finnish reggae-artist Posteljoona has written song named
Jacques Cousteau, which is on album Äärimmäinen Totuusalbumi featuring the lyric "Me sukelletaan
niinkun Jaques Cousteau/pohjaan asti sinne mistä oikein ilo irtoo..."(roughly translated "We dive like Jaques Cousteau/down to
the bottom where the joy truly opens...").
In the TV comedy series The Mighty Boosh, Cousteau is often mistakenly referred to
as John Coltrane, the jazz musician, by Vince.
Sealab 2021 occasionally featured a minor character clearly modeled on Cousteau.
Cousteau has been featured in at least one strip of The Far Side.
During Gaia Online's Summer Festival 2007, at random points when a user throws a water
balloon, a phrase appears saying, "Way to go, Jacques Costeau!"
Andy Dick played a drunken Cousteau doing a voice-over for a manatee documentary on
The Ben Stiller Show.
In an episode of the TV show Full Housing, Joey Gladstone (played by Dave Coulier) does an impression of Jacques Cousteau on
Star Search.
See also
Jacques-Yves Cousteau's ships
External links
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