GAGNAN, Émile

GAGNAN, Émile

France, Canada (1900-1984)

Last updated: June 4, 2018 at 16:48 pm

Co-inventor of the Aqua-Lung with Jacques-Yves Cousteau in 1943. First production of the Scaphandre Autonome (Aqua-Lung), patented in 1945, was delivered in 1946 under the name CG.45 (Cousteau Gagnan 45). Gagnan emigrated to Canada in 1947 where he worked for Canadian Liquid Air. After setting up a lab in Montreal, Québec, he continued to design and engineer scuba devices that would ultimately become the base models for most modern-day regulators.

U.S. National Inventors Hall of Fame (2010)
NOGI Award (Distinguished Service, 2002)
International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame (2000)

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