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Essay Name       : 641.txt 
Uploader         : Christopher Rhode
Email Address    : 
Language         : English
Subject          : Biography
Title            : Jacques Cousteau
Grade            : 87% B
School System    : High School (9th Grade)
Country          : USA
Author Comments  : A good essay for a descent grade
Teacher Comments : none
Date             : 23rd October (when handed in)
Site found at    : From a web site on the "Fringe of the Web" Web Ring
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Jacques Cousteau




     Many people know that the earth is covered with water.  In fact, 3/4 of the earth is water.  
The major oceans (i.e. Atlantic, Indian, etc.) are salt water.  We can't drink salt water.  
Sadly enough, we are destroying our oceans and various other parts of our precious earth.  
But there are people out there who commit their lives to preserving the earth.  One man in specific 
has accomplished such a thing.  He has worked to preserve the oceans and the rest of the marine
 world from our destruction.  He has used modern technology and has written several books to try to 
make the people of earth better understand the gentle world beneath the water and to prevent it from 
being destroyed.  This man I am talking about is none other than Jacques Cousteau.  I have written this
 paper to describe his life and major things he has done.

History/Background

     Jacques Cousteau was born on June 11th, 1910 in St.-André-de-Cubzac, France.  Jacques was 
always interested with water in his youth.  When Cousteau was 10, he visited the U.S. where he spent
 several months in New York City which included time playing stickball with the neighborhood children.
 He left the U.S. with a sense of wonderment about the high technology of this country.  
     In his early teen years, he began fulfilling his fascinations with his interests in machines and in film
 making.  One of his early accomplishments were building a battery-operated car at 13.  He also 
secretly saved his money and when he had enough, he bought a home movie camera.  In his later teen
 years, Jacques became bored with school and began causing trouble.  His parents found out why his 
grades were dropping and sent him off to a boarding school.  This new environment gave him the 
discipline he needed to excel in this new school.  Upon graduation, he applied for and was accepted 
into the Ecole Navale* at the age of 19.
     
     Following completion in the Academy, he entered the French Navy as a midshipman.  He got 
involved in an accident in which doctors said that he would never be able to use his left arm again.  The 
Navy sent him to a ship out in the Mediterranean Sea to get well.  After swimming in the water every 
day,  he proved the doctors wrong.  After his recovery, Cousteau's shipmates gave a pair of watertight 
goggles so he could swim underwater.  When Cousteau dived underwater, he was fascinated with the 
world beneath the sea.
     Cousteau became involved in underwater explorations of the ocean environment in 1936.  In 1937, 
Cousteau married Simone Melchoir and together they had two sons, Jean-Michael and Phillipe.  Two
 years later, Cousteau was called to fight in World War II.  While in W.W.II, Cousteau and French 
engineer Emile Gagnan worked on and perfected the aqualung or SCUBA*  They used the aqualung to 
recover enemy mines after W.W.II.

Accomplishments

     Cousteau can be proud of his many accomplishments in his life.  During his work in the Navy with 
the undersea research group, Cousteau and Emile Gagnan developed the aqualung in 1943 which 
enabled divers to go underwater for a long period of time.  He also developed the Bathyscaphe, an 
immersible boat and begun as one of the pioneers of underwater photography.  
     Cousteau's best work and accomplishments have come from his explorations of the undersea world 
on the Calypso.  His work has spawned many books including The Silent World written with Frederick
 Dumas in 1953 which received critical acclaim.  In addition to the several well known books he has
 written, he has produced several films including The Silent World in 1956 and World Without Sun in 
1966.  Both of these films have won AcademyŇ Awards.  In 1968, Cousteau began to produce his 
well known television series to introduce the public to undersea life and to raise their awareness of the
 need to protect ocean life.  
     Some of Cousteau's many honors include the Medal of Freedom given to him by President Ronald 
Regan in 1985 and again in 1989.  He was also honored by France with membership in the French 
Academy.

Contributions

     Jacques has made numerous contributions to society.  Use of the aqualung and Bathyscaphe has 
greatly enhanced the ability of researches all over the world.  In fact, the popular sport of scuba diving 
would obviously not be possible without the development of the aqualung.  Cousteau's books and films 
have delighted readers and viewers for many decades now and will continue to do so for many years
 into the future.  Cousteau will probably best be remembered for his strong commitment to the marine 
environment and his use of his television series to promote better understanding of the undersea world.  
Cousteau's devotion to the protection of the ocean and its life forms inspired him to develop the 
Cousteau Society which currently has over 300,000 members worldwide.  Because of the work 
Cousteau has done and his many followers, the oceans may be able to be saved from their sure 
destruction by the thoughtlessness of so many in this world.

THE END

**************Copyright Notice****************

I here by give all rights of this essay over to Jens 
Schriver, owner of the Evil House Of Cheat.  



 
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