A Brief Look at the Early History of Scuba Diving

About 50 years ago, legendary actor John Wayne appeared in a film that was a great departure from the traditional role that he commonly played. The film was entitled REAP THE WILD WIND and the “duke” did not play the role of a cowboy or a drill sergeant. Wayne, instead, played the role of a sea faring person who faces a thrilling challenge at the climax of the movie: Wayne must battle a giant octopus!

It is no where near as campy as it sounds as it is a serious film with a fantastic climax that had a believable ending. In this scene, we do get a brief glimpse into what the early days of scuba diving looked like as Wayne wears the classic 19th century deep diver outfit. When one looks at the classic suit, we realize that through the history of scuba diving the types of scuba gear employed in exploring the ocean depths has advanced tremendously. Now, when someone looks at where we are today, it raises a number of questions as to how we started. This leads us to a brief overview of the early history of scuba diving.

The Early Days of the History of Scuba Diving

While there were a number of experiments into undersea breathing apparatuses going all the way back to primitive civilizations, it truly was not until the 19th century that effective means and methods of scuba diving were devised. In 1823, Charles Anthony Deane revolutionized science and the history of scuba diving by devising the helmet and diving suit that was reproduced so wonderfully in the aforementioned REAP THE WILD WIND.

Deane also received help from his brother John in devising the suit, they did not receive the notoriety that the Wright Brothers received despite the fact that their invention forever changed the world forever as the ocean now became wide open for exploration. Its secrets ceased to be secret.

Now, this style of diving suit did not use compressed air or tanks as that innovation would not come until the 20th century. The way the diver breathed was using a tube that would deliver air from the surface. Yes, such a device was somewhat dangerous. On second thought, the suit was extremely dangerous and those who wore it deserve a ton of praise for their bravery.

Without them, there would be no history of scuba diving because scuba diving as we know it would not exist. We owe these people praise as their innovations were built upon to create what is now known as modern scuba diving. The magnitude of their achievement is incredible because without it, the world would be a much different place.