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Simone Cousteau (née Melchior; 19 January 1919 – 1 December 1990) was a French explorer. She was the first woman scuba diver and aquanaut, and wife and business partner of undersea explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau. Although never visible in the Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau series, Simone
- Simone Cousteau’s Early Life
- Invention of The Aqua Lung
- Life Onboard The Calypso
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Despite being born on the Mediterranean French coast in 1919, Simone and her family soon moved to Japan. Her father, Henri Melchior, took a job as a director with Air Liquide (France’s main producer of industrial gases at the time). This, surprisingly, was the key to the invention of the aqua lung and the scuba diving apparatus we know today. In 19...
In 1942, Simone’s father provided financing and the manufacturing expertise of Emile Gagnan at Air Liquide to build the aqua lung. Would the diving industry look as it does today if Simone had never met Jacques? We’ll never know, but things could have turned out quite differently had the stars not aligned. In no time, the Cousteaus’ zest for aquati...
By 1963, Simone had become the world’s first female aquanaut by living in Starfish House, an underwater habitat, alongside her newfound role as mother, healer, nurse and psychiatrist to the all-male crew for 40 years, earning her the nickname “La Bergère,” meaning “The Shepherdess.” As the world’s first female underwater videographer — arguably the...
Learn about the life and legacy of Simone Melchior Cousteau, the matriarch of the Cousteau scuba diving family and the world's first female aquanaut. Discover how she contributed to the invention of the aqua lung, the underwater videography and the ocean exploration.
Oct 8, 2021 · Jacques Cousteau, the famous ocean explorer, had a secret family for decades while he was married to Simone Melchior. He revealed his affair and children after Simone's death in 1990.
- Cody Copeland
Mar 28, 2013 · This past Saturday at the Annual Beneath the Sea Dive and Travel Expo in New Jersey, I was proud to accept on behalf of my mother, Simone Melchior-Cousteau, the award as member of the Woman Divers Hall of Fame.
Simone Melchior Cousteau. (1919 - 1990) As the wife and partner of Jacques-Yves Cousteau. Simone introduced him to the engineer and to the funding that would result in his co-invention of the Aqualung.
As the wife and partner of Jacques-Yves Cousteau. Simone introduced him to the engineer and to the funding that would result in his co-invention of the Aqualung. She became the first woman scuba diver; she was instrumental in the acquisition of Calypso...
The documentary also chronicles his first wife and collaborator Simone Melchior (known aboard the Calypso as “The Shepherdess”), his family experiences, his second wife Francine Triplet, the creation of The Cousteau Society and the crucial work they do, and his evolution into one of the most important environmental voices of the 20th ...
