Born June 11th, 1910, Jacques Cousteau embarked on a lifetime intertwined with the sea. His “The Silent World” hit movie screens around the world in 1956, making his name iconic as history’s most prolific ambassador of the oceans.
Cousteau’s career included over 120 television documentaries, 50 books, the 300,000 member foundation the Cousteau Society, and perhaps the most pivotal innovation in undersea exploration history – the aqualung.
Cousteau was awarded the highest civilian honor in the United States, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985 and 1989.
Cousteau’s centennial birthday celebration marks the start of an effort to reinstitute a global passion for the life aquatic. This includes a National Geographic expedition that will revisit many of the early Cousteau sites to observe changes since he first explored them over 50 years ago.
Given our imminent struggles in the Gulf of Mexico, and elsewhere in the world, Cousteau’s 100th birthday should stand as a motivating reminder of how significant our oceans are in the global cycle of life.
Vive la vie aquatique!!! 
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- The Life Aquatic a Reality (anewlifeinthesea.blogspot.com)
- Jacques Cousteau Legacy Still Making a Splash (livescience.com)
- June 11, 1910: Cousteau, Champion of the Wine-Dark Sea (wired.com)
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- Hope for Cousteau’s Ocean on World Oceans Day (google-latlong.blogspot.com)
