Longest active diver [Men]

Longest active diver [Men]

Last updated: June 27, 2018 at 21:21 pm

Jean-Michel Cousteau (USA, France) made his first Aqua-Lung dive near Toulon (France) at the age of 7 in 1945. He has since led hundreds of missions all over the world for the Cousteau Society and Ocean Futures Society. Jean-Michel Cousteau is also a member of the world’s first scuba diving family.

“Soon, we were diving as a family. By 1945, we each had our own set of equipment, which had by now been greatly improved. I was barely seven; Philippe was four and a half. My father had reimagined himself as a manfish, and we quite naturally went along for the ride.” — Jean-Michel Cousteau | My Father, The Captain: My Life with Jacques Cousteau (2012)

My Father, The Captain: My Life with Jacques Cousteau (2012)
Ocean Futures Society

Jean-Michel Cousteau | Who’s Who profile page

Jean-Michel Cousteau speaking in Brazil in 2010. Photo by Fronteiras do Pensamento (Creative Commons)

Jean-Michel Cousteau speaking in Brazil in 2014. Photo by Vaner Casaes / BAPRESS (Creative Commons)

Please note that comments are moderated: (1) Stay on topic (2) Be respectful (3) Refrain from vulgarity and abusive language (4) Do not make personal complaints about a person’s character, business, work or associations (5) Do not publish materials that violate copyright. OFFENDING COMMENTS WILL BE DELETED.

If you have claim to a diving or underwater record or first, if you know of a significant first or record not listed here, or if you can demonstrate that any of the information on this website is false or outdated, please complete the form on the record submission page.

In order to ensure your browsing experience is as enjoyable as possible, banners are kept to an absolute minimum, which means that advertising revenues alone cannot sustain this 100% FREE publication. Researching and updating the Diving Almanac requires a lot of time and dedication. If you believe the diving community needs a central body of information to record, validate and make available our shared history and accomplishments, please show your support by making a contribution to the Diving Almanac via PayPal (Porbeagle Press). Thank you!

VESCOVO, Victor

By Jeffrey Gallant

Deepsea explorer extraordinaire; first person to descend to the deepest points of all five of the Earth's oceans during the Five Deeps Expedition in 2018–2019; set the record for the deepest [...]

Who's Who

WALLINGFORD, Peter

By Jeffrey Gallant

President of Diamond Reef® Training Systems International (renamed from BTSI); creator of the Diamond Reef Training and Evaluation System; founded Friends of the Reef in response [...]

COUSTEAU, Jacques-Yves

By Jeffrey Gallant

Diving pioneer, visionary, and inventor; world-famous underwater explorer and advocate for the environment; prolific author and film [...]

LE PRIEUR, Yves Paul Gaston

By Jeffrey Gallant

Inventor; modified the Rouquayrol Denayrouse diving apparatus by combining a demand valve and high pressure air tank thus eliminating [...]

Who's Who

EVANS, Bob

By Jeffrey Gallant

President, Bob Evans Designs, Inc.; inventor holding more than 33 patents on revolutionary fin designs (Force Fin); inventor of GasPods; fin design part of the permanent collections [...]

Who's Who

WOLBERT, Linden

By Jeffrey Gallant

Professional mermaid; entrepreneur; Ocean Advocate; founder and CEO at Mermaid Linden; Half woman, half fish, Linden speaks to humans about the creatures of the sea with [...]

Who's Who

VANN, Richard D., Ph.D.

By Jeffrey Gallant

Hyperbaric researcher; diving physiologist; Emeritus Assistant Professor at Duke University; former Vice President of Research for DAN; diving engineer at Ocean [...]

Who's Who

NITSCH, Herbert

By Jeffrey Gallant

Competitive freediver; established AIDA No Limit record of 214 m (702.1 ft) in 2007; has set over 30 world records; can hold his breath for more than 9 minutes; invented the neck [...]

Who's Who

LABAN, André

By Jeffrey Gallant

Underwater photographer; filmmaker; world’s first underwater painter; musician; longtime crewmember and diver of the Cousteau Society; chemical engineer; co-designer and [...]

CHURCH, Ron

By Jeffrey Gallant

Pioneer underwater photographer; author; cinematographer; freediver; world record spearfisherman; co-founder of the San Diego Underwater Photographic [...]

NICKLIN, Chuck

By Jeffrey Gallant

Pioneer underwater cinematographer and photographer; filmed underwater sequences for TV shows and blockbuster movies including The Deep, The Abyss, and two [...]

EARLE, Sylvia, Ph.D.

By Jeffrey Gallant

Scientist; aquanaut; author; public speaker; multiple record holder including the Deepest dive in one-atmosphere suit and the Deepest solo submersible dive; led the first all-female [...]

Who's Who

SULLIVAN, Jeremiah

By Jeffrey Gallant

Marine biologist; shark diving pioneer and researcher into the reality of human/shark interactions; founder of SharkArmor Tech; inventor of the Neptunic Sharksuit, a flexible [...]

Who's Who

HASS, Lotte (née Baierl)

By Jeffrey Gallant

Diving and underwater photography pioneer; first underwater model; producer; author; went on her first expedition with Hans Hass in the Red Sea in 1950 resulting [...]

DOUBILET, David

By Jeffrey Gallant

Underwater photographer; resident photographer for National Geographic Magazine; explorer; author; multiple awards include Lowell Thomas Award (Explorers Club) and the [...]

Who's Who

McDONALD, Kendall

By Jeffrey Gallant

Author; wreck enthusiast; chronicler of British diving and shipwrecks; public speaker; scriptwriter and presenter of the first British TV series on diving; former Chairman of [...]

Who's Who

WATTS, Hal

By Jeffrey Gallant

Founder of the Professional Scuba Association, originally known as the Florida State Skin Diving Schools in 1962; world air depth record at 390 ft (119 m) in 1967; set the world record for [...]

WATSON, Neal

By Jeffrey Gallant

Pioneer of dive resort franchising; President of the Bahamas Diving Association; commercial diver; dive instructor; treasure salver; underwater stuntman; holds the world record for the longest [...]