Misplaced Pages

This is a list of underwater divers whose exploits have made them notable. Underwater divers are people who take part in underwater diving activities – Underwater diving is practiced as part of an occupation, or for recreation, where the practitioner submerges below the surface of the water or other liquid for a period which may range between seconds to order of a day at a time, either exposed to the ambient pressure or isolated by a pressure resistant suit, to interact with the underwater environment for pleasure, competitive sport, or as a means to reach a work site for profit or in the pursuit of knowledge, and may use no equipment at all, or a wide range of equipment which may include breathing apparatus, environmental protective clothing, aids to vision, communication, propulsion, maneuverability, buoyancy and safety equipment, and tools for the task at hand.

Who is an underwater diver?

This list refers to people who are notable for their underwater diving activities and for whom a biographical article exists in Misplaced Pages. The following lists may also be relevant:

• Index of underwater divers – Alphabetical listing of articles about underwater divers

Pioneers of diving

• Victor Berge – Swedish diving pioneer and author (1891–1974)
• Alberto Gianni – Italian underwater diver and inventor (1891–1930)
• James F. Cahill – American scuba diving pioneer (1926–2008)
• Alphonse and Théodore Carmagnolle – Inventors of an early atmospheric diving suit
• Charles Condert – American inventor of a failed underwater breathing apparatus
• Jacques Cousteau – French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author (1910-1997)
• Charles Anthony Deane – Pioneering diving engineer and inventor of a surface supplied diving helmet
• Guglielmo de Lorena – Underwater archaeologist who invented a diving bell
• Auguste Denayrouze – French inventor of a demand air supply regulator for underwater diving
• Philippe Diolé – French author and undersea explorer (1908–1977)
• Frédéric Dumas – French pioneer of scuba diving
• Ted Eldred – Australian inventor of the single hose diving regulator
• Maurice Fernez – French inventor and pioneer in underwater breathing apparatus
• Émile Gagnan – French engineer and co-inventor of the open circuit demand scuba regulator
• Gary Gentile – American author and pioneering technical diver (1946–)
• Bret Gilliam – Pioneering technical diver and author (1951–2023)
• Edmond Halley – English astronomer (1656–1742)
• Hans Hass – Austrian biologist, film-maker, and underwater diving pioneer (1919–2013)
• Stig Insulán – Inventor of an adjustable automatic exhaust valve for variable volume dry suits
• Jim Jarret – Test diver of the first successful atmospheric diving suit
• Yves Le Prieur – French naval officer and inventor of a free-flow scuba system
• John Lethbridge – English wool merchant who invented a diving machine in 1715
• William Hogarth Main – Cave diver and scuba configuration experimentalist
• Tom Mount – Pioneering technical and cave diver (1939–2022)
• Bill Nagle – American wreck diving pioneer (1952–1993) wreck diving
• Phil Nuytten – Canadian deep-ocean explorer, scientist, and inventor of the Newtsuit
• Joseph Salim Peress – Pioneering British diving engineer
• Benoît Rouquayrol – French inventor of an early diving demand regulator
• Dick Rutkowski – American pioneer in hyperbaric and diving medicine and use of mixed breathing gases for diving
• Joe Savoie – Diver and inventor of diving helmets
• Augustus Siebe – British engineer mostly known for his contributions to diving equipment
• Charles Spalding – Scottish confectioner and amateur diving bell designer
• E. Lee Spence – Underwater archaeologist (1947–)′
• Robert Sténuit – Belgian journalist, writer and underwater archeologist (1933–2024)
• Philippe Tailliez – French pioneer of scuba diving and underwater photographer (1905–2002)
• Teseo Tesei – Italian naval officer and pioneering military diver (1909–1941) inventor of human torpedo
• Arne Zetterström – Swedish diver and researcher (1917–1945)

Underwater explorers

• Craig Challen – Australian veterinary surgeon and technical diver
• Sheck Exley – American cave and deep diving pioneer and record breaker
• Martyn Farr – British cave diver
• Richard Harris – Irish actor and singer (1930–2002)
• Jill Heinerth – Canadian diver, writer and underwater filmmaker
• William Hogarth Main – Cave diver and scuba configuration experimentalist
• Agnes Milowka – Australian cave diver
• Rick Stanton – British cave diver who specialises in rescues
• Bill Stone – American engineer, caver and explorer
• Krzysztof Starnawski – Polish technical and cave diver
• John Volanthen – British volunteer cave diver who specialises in rescues

Underwater scientists, environmentalists and archaeologists

• Michael Arbuthnot – Underwater archaeologist and film-maker
• Carole Baldwin – Vertebrate Zoology department chair at the National Museum of Natural History
• Robert Ballard – Retired US Navy officer and professor of oceanography
• George Bass – American pioneer of underwater archaeology (1932–2021)
• Mensun Bound – British maritime archaeologist
• Eugenie Clark – American ichthyologist, shark researcher and scientific scuba diver
• James P. Delgado – American maritime archaeologist, explorer and author
• Sylvia Earle – American marine biologist and lecturer
• John Christopher Fine – American marine biologist, wreck diver and author
• George R. Fischer – American underwater archaeologist
• Anders Franzén – Swedish marine technician and amateur naval archaeologist
• Honor Frost – Pioneer in underwater archaeology
• David Gibbins – Underwater archaeologist and novelist
• Graham Jessop – British commercial diver and marine archaeologist
• Robert F. Marx – American author and scuba diver (1936–2019)
• Charles T. Meide – American underwater archaeologist
• Simon Mitchell – New Zealand physician and author on diving medicine
• Mark M. Newell – British/American underwater and terrestrial archaeologist and anthropologist
• John Peter Oleson – Classical archaeologist and historian of ancient technology
• Margaret Rule – British archaeologist who led the Mary Rose project
• Dee Scarr – Environmentalist, marine naturalist, and scuba diver
• Gunter Schöbel – German archaeologist and director of the Pfahlbau Museum Unteruhldingen
• Stephanie Schwabe – German geomicrobiologist, diver and underwater researcher
• E. Lee Spence – Underwater archaeologist
• Robert Sténuit – Belgian journalist, writer and underwater archeologist (1933–2024)
• Peter Throckmorton – American photojournalist and a pioneer underwater archaeologist

Freedivers

• Deborah Andollo – Cuban free diver and diving instructor
• Peppo Biscarini – Italian and American swimmer, freediver, and actor
• Sara Campbell – British free diver and former world record holder
• Derya Can – Turkish world record holder female free-diver
• Goran Čolak – Croatian free-diver and world record holder
• Carlos Coste – Venezuelan freediver and world record holder
• Robert Croft – American freediver and US Navy diving instructor
• Mandy-Rae Cruickshank – Canadian world champion freediver and record holder
• Yasemin Dalkılıç – Turkish freediver and record holder
• Flavia Eberhard – Brazilian free-diver and presenter of TV series "APNEIA"
• Şahika Ercümen – Turkish dietician and world record holding freediver
• Emma Farrell – British freediving instructor and author
• Francisco Ferreras – Cuban freediver also known as "Pipin"
• Pierre Frolla – Monegasque free-diver and world record holder
• Elisabeth Kristoffersen – Norwegian freediver and president of AIDA Norway
• Loïc Leferme – French freediving record breaker
• Enzo Maiorca – Italian free diver
• Jacques Mayol – French free diver (1927–2001)
• Audrey Mestre – French world record-setting freediver
• Karol Meyer – Brazilian free-diver world record holder and professional cyclist for Avai Cycle Team
• Stéphane Mifsud – French free diver and five time world champion in static apnea
• Alexey Molchanov – Russian world record holder for freediving
• Natalia Molchanova – Russian multiple world record holding freediver (1962–2015)
• Dave Mullins – New Zealand freediver and world record-holder
• Patrick Musimu – Belgian freediver
• Guillaume Néry – French freediver
• Herbert Nitsch – Austrian freediver and world record holder
• Umberto Pelizzari – Italian freediver
• Annelie Pompe – Swedish freediver and mountaineer
• Ocean Ramsey – American freediver and model (born 1987)
• Stig Severinsen – Danish freediver, record holder and author
• Tom Sietas – German freediver and record holder
• Aharon Solomons – English-Israeli former Army officer, holder of the Israeli national record for freediving.
• Martin Štěpánek – Czech freediver and record-holder
• Walter Steyn – Australian competitive freediver, freediving judge and freediving instructor
• Tanya Streeter – British-Caymanian-American freediver
• William Trubridge – New Zealand freediver and record holder
• Devrim Cenk Ulusoy – Turkish freediver and world record holder
• Danai Varveri – Greek freediver and record holder
• Alessia Zecchini – Italian freediver (born 1992)

Scuba divers

• John Bennett (diver) – British technical diver and former record holder lost in commercial diving incident
• Pascal Bernabé – French claimant to scuba diving depth record
• Jim Bowden (diver) – Record breaking technical and cave diver
• Mark Ellyatt – British technical diver and previous depth record holder
• Sheck Exley – American cave and deep diving pioneer and record breaker
• Nuno Gomes – South African diver and holder of scuba depth record
• Simon Mitchell – New Zealand physician and author on diving medicine
• Claudia Serpieri – Italian technical diver and depth record holder
• Dave Shaw – Australian technical diver and former record holder killed in a diving incident
• Krzysztof Starnawski – Polish technical and cave diver

Surface supplied and saturation divers

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (September 2018)

Underwater filmmakers

• Eduard Admetlla i Lázaro – Catalan scuba diving pioneer and underwater filmmaker
• Samir Alhafith – Australian technical diver, cave explorer and adult underwater filmmaker
• Henri Bource – Dutch-Australian scuba diver, underwater filmmaker, musician and shark attack survivor
• Scott Cassell – American underwater filmmaker
• Jacques Cousteau – French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author (1910-1997)
• Ben Cropp – Australian documentary filmmaker, conservationist and spearfisherman
• Hans Hass – Austrian biologist, film-maker, and underwater diving pioneer
• Jill Heinerth – Canadian diver, writer and underwater filmmaker
• Henry Kaiser (musician) – American guitarist, film director, and scientific diver
• Ron Taylor – Australian diver and shark cinematographer
• Valerie Taylor – Australian underwater photographer
• Stan Waterman – American cinematographer and underwater film producer (1923–2023)
• Andrew Wight – Australian screenwriter and producer (1959–2012)

Underwater photographers

• Tamara Benitez – Filipina cinematographer
• Georges Beuchat – French inventor, diver and businessman
• Adrian Biddle – English cinematographer (1952–2005)
• Jonathan Bird – American photographer, cinematographer, director and television host
• Eric Cheng – Taiwanese American entrepreneur and professional photographer
• Neville Coleman – Australian naturalist, underwater photographer, writer, publisher and educator
• Jacques Cousteau – French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author (1910-1997)
• John D. Craig – American businessman, writer, soldier, and diver
• Ben Cropp – Australian documentary filmmaker, conservationist and spearfisherman
• Bernard Delemotte – French diver and photographer (1939–2023)
• David Doubilet – Underwater photographer and author
• John Christopher Fine – American marine biologist, wreck diver and author
• Dermot FitzGerald – Irish photographer
• Rodney Fox – Australian diver, film maker and conservationist
• Ric Frazier – American photographer
• Stephen Frink – Underwater photographer and publisher
• Peter Gimbel – American filmmaker and underwater photojournalist (1927–1987)
• Monty Halls – British TV broadcaster, diver and naturalist
• Hans Hass – Austrian biologist, film-maker, and underwater diving pioneer
• Henry Way Kendall – American particle physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics
• Rudie Hermann Kuiter – Dutch-born Australian underwater photographer, taxonomist, and marine biologist
• Joseph B. MacInnis – Canadian physician, author, poet and aquanaut
• Luis Marden – American photographer, explorer, writer, filmmaker, diver, navigator, and linguist
• Agnes Milowka – Australian cave diver
• Bruce Mozert – American photographer
• Noel Monkman – New Zealand born Australian filmmaker specialising in underwater photography
• Steve Parish – British born Australian photographer and publisherPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Zale Parry – American scuba diver, photographer and actress (born 1933)
• Pierre Petit – French photographer (1831–1909)
• Leni Riefenstahl – German filmmaker (1902–2003)
• Peter Scoones – Underwater cameraman
• Brian Skerry – American film producer and photojournalist
• Wesley C. Skiles – American cave diver and cinematographer
• E. Lee Spence – Underwater archaeologist
• Philippe Tailliez – French pioneer of scuba diving and underwater photographer
• Ron Taylor – Australian diver and shark cinematographer
• Valerie Taylor – Australian underwater photographer
• Albert Tillman – American educator and underwater diver
• John Veltri – American filmmaker and underwater photographer
• Stan Waterman – American cinematographer and underwater film producer (1923–2023)
• Michele Westmorland – American underwater photographer
• J. Lamar Worzel – American geophysicist and underwater photographer

Underwater artists

• Jason deCaires Taylor – British sculptor and creator of the world's first underwater sculpture park

Combat divers, frogmen and saboteurs

• Lionel Crabb – Royal Navy frogman and MI6 diver
• Ian Edward Fraser – Royal Navy Victoria Cross recipient (1920–2008)
• Sydney Knowles – British naval frogman during and after WWII
• John H. Lang – American soldier and sailor (1899–1970)
• Alain Mafart – French military officer convicted for his part in the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior
• Teseo Tesei – Italian naval officer and pioneering military diver

Aquanauts

Aquanaut – Diver who remains at depth underwater for longer than 24 hours

• Astronauts – Commander, pilot, or crew member of a spacecraft
  • Joseph M. Acaba – American educator, hydrogeologist, and NASA astronaut
  • Clayton Anderson – Retired NASA astronaut and member of the ISS Expedition 15 crew
  • Richard R. Arnold – American educator and NASA astronaut
  • Serena Auñón-Chancellor – American physician, engineer, and NASA astronaut
  • Michael Barratt (astronaut) – American aerospace medicine physician and astronaut born 1959
  • Bob Behnken – US Air Force officer, NASA astronaut and former Chief of the Astronaut Office (born 1970)
  • Randolph Bresnik – United States Marine Corps officer and a NASA astronaut on three expeditions
  • Scott Carpenter – American astronaut and aquanaut (1925–2013)
  • Gregory Chamitoff – Canadian born engineer and NASA astronaut (born 1962)
  • Catherine Coleman – American astronaut, chemist, engineer and USAF colonel (born 1960)
  • Timothy Creamer – NASA flight director, astronaut and US Army officer
  • Jeanette Epps – American aerospace engineer and NASA astronaut born 1970
  • Andrew J. Feustel – American-Canadian NASA astronaut and geophysicist
  • Michael Fincke – American astronaut and USAF colonel (born 1967)
  • Satoshi Furukawa – Japanese surgeon and astronaut (born 1964)
  • Ronald J. Garan Jr. – American astronaut
  • Michael L. Gernhardt – NASA astronaut and manager of Environmental Physiology Laboratory (born 1956)
  • Chris Hadfield – Canadian astronaut (born 1959)
  • Jeremy Hansen – Canadian astronaut and future lunar explorer (born 1976)
  • José M. Hernández – American engineer and former NASA astronaut
  • John Herrington – Native American astronaut, aviator and engineer (born 1958)
  • Akihiko Hoshide – Japanese astronaut and engineer (born 1968)
  • Norishige Kanai – Japanese doctor and astronaut (born 1976)
  • Scott Kelly (astronaut) – American engineer and astronaut (born 1964)
  • Timothy Kopra – American astronaut
  • Michael López-Alegría – Spanish-American astronaut (born 1958)
  • Sandra Magnus – American astronaut and engineer (born 1964)
  • Thomas Marshburn – American physician and NASA astronaut
  • K. Megan McArthur – American oceanographer and NASA astronaut (born 1971)
  • Jessica Meir – American astronaut and marine biologist
  • Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger – American astronaut
  • Andreas Mogensen – Danish engineer and astronaut (born 1976)
  • Soichi Noguchi – Japanese astronaut and engineer (born 1965)
  • Karen Nyberg – American mechanical engineer and NASA astronaut
  • John D. Olivas – American engineer and a former NASA astronaut
  • Takuya Onishi – Japanese astronaut, engineer and pilot (born 1975)
  • Luca Parmitano – Italian astronaut, pilot and engineer (born 1976)
  • Nicholas Patrick – British-American astronaut and engineer (born 1964)
  • Tim Peake – British Army Air Corps officer and astronaut (born 1972)
  • Thomas Pesquet – French aerospace engineer, pilot, and astronaut (born 1978)
  • Marc Reagan – American Station Training Lead in Mission Operations at NASA's Johnson Space Center
  • Garrett Reisman – American engineer and former NASA astronaut (born 1968)
  • Kathleen Rubins – American microbiologist and NASA astronaut
  • David Saint-Jacques – Canadian astronaut (born 1970)
  • Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper – American astronaut and Navy captain (born 1963)
  • Hervé Stevenin – European aquanaut at the European Astronaut Centre (born 1962)
  • Nicole Stott – American engineer and former astronaut (born 1962)
  • Daniel M. Tani – American astronaut and engineer (born 1961)
  • Robert Thirsk – Canadian engineer, astronaut and physician (born 1953)
  • Bill Todd – Project Manager for Exploration Analogs at NASA's Johnson Space Center
  • Mark T. Vande Hei – American engineer and NASA astronaut
  • Koichi Wakata – Japanese engineer and astronaut (born 1963)
  • Rex J. Walheim – American astronaut, engineer and USAF colonel (born 1962)
  • Shannon Walker – American scientist and NASA astronaut
  • Douglas H. Wheelock – American engineer and astronaut (born 1960)
  • Peggy Whitson – American astronaut and biochemistry researcher (born 1960)
  • Dafydd Williams – Canadian astronaut, physician and public speaker (born 1954)
  • Jeffrey Williams (astronaut) – American astronaut and US Army officer (born 1958)
  • Sunita Williams – American astronaut and Navy officer (born 1965)
  • Gregory R. Wiseman – American astronaut, engineer, and naval aviator (born 1975)Pages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
  • Kimiya Yui – Japanese pilot and astronaut (born 1970)
• Andrew Abercromby – Biomedical engineer from Scotland working for NASA
• Timothy J. Broderick – Professor of Surgery and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Cincinnati
• Berry L. Cannon – American aquanaut who died in a diving incident (1935–1969)
• Justin Brown (aquanaut) – American professional aquanaut and habitat technician
• Steve Chappell – American aerospace engineer
• Robin Cook (American novelist) – American physician and novelist (born 1940)
• Craig B. Cooper – American aquanaut
• Fabien Cousteau – Aquanaut, ocean conservationist, and documentary filmmaker
• Philippe Cousteau – French diver and cinematographer (1940–1979)
• Jonathan Dory – Human Systems Integration Lead at NASA's Johnson Space Center
• Sylvia Earle – American marine biologist and lecturer
• Sheck Exley – American cave and deep diving pioneer and record breaker
• Albert Falco – French scuba diver, chief diver and captain of the Calypso
• Christopher E. Gerty – American aerospace engineer who worked on NASA's Constellation Program
• Paul Hill (flight director) – Former Director of Mission Operations at the NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center
• Mark Hulsbeck – American professional aquanaut
• Emma Hwang – Scientist with Wyle Laboratories and aquanaut on NEEMO 5
• Les Kaufman – American evolutionary ecologist specializing in aquatic ecosystems
• Karen Kohanowich – American aquanaut and ex US Navy diver
• Dominic Landucci – American professional aquanaut and Network Analyst at the NOAA Aquarius Reef Base
• Jon Lindbergh – American underwater diver (1932–2021)
• Joseph B. MacInnis – Canadian physician, author, poet and aquanaut
• Craig McKinley (physician) – Canadian physician and aquanaut
• Simone Melchior – First woman scuba diver and aquanaut (1919–1990)
• Dick Rutkowski – American pioneer in hyperbaric and diving medicine and use of mixed breathing gases for diving
• Tara Ruttley – Associate Chief Scientist for Microgravity Research at NASA Headquarters
• Josef Schmid (flight surgeon) – NASA flight surgeon and Major General in the United States Air Force Reserves
• Robert Sheats – American Master Diver retired from the United States Navy
• Dewey Smith – American aquanaut. Died in diving accident.
• Steve Squyres – Professor of Physical Sciences at Cornell University
• Robert Sténuit – Belgian journalist, writer and underwater archeologist (1933–2024)
• James Talacek – American professional aquanaut
• Joachim Wendler – German aquanaut (1939–1975)

Cave divers

• Graham Balcombe – Pioneering British cave diver (1907–2000)
• Jon Lindbergh – Pioneering American cave diver and early aquanaut (1932–2021)
• Jim Bowden – Record breaking technical and cave diver
• Sheck Exley – American cave and deep diving pioneer and record breaker (1949–1994)
• Martyn Farr – British cave diver (1951–)
• Jarrod Jablonski – Pioneer American cave diver, author and previous cave diving record holder (1969–)
• Artur Kozłowski – Polish cave diver (1977–2011) (1977–2011)
• Jack Sheppard – British cave diver (1909–2001)
• Wesley C. Skiles – American cave diver and cinematographer (1958–2010)
• Krzysztof Starnawski – Polish technical and cave diver
• Rick Stanton – British cave diver who specialises in rescues (1961–)
• John Volanthen – British volunteer cave diver who specialises in rescues (1971–)

Notable for other reasons

(to be allocated)

• Michael C. Barnette – American underwater diver, author and founder of the Association of Underwater Explorers (born 1971)
• Leigh Bishop – Diver known for shipwreck exploration and photography (shipwreck discovery)
• John Chatterton – American wreck diver, co-host for History Channel's Deep Sea Detectives series(shipwreck discovery)
• Jean-Michel Cousteau – French oceanographic explorer
• Billy Deans (diver) – American pioneering wreck and technical diver
• Leonardo D'Imporzano – Italian free-diver and AIDA International Judge
• Deon Dreyer – South African diver (1974–1994)
• Oscar Gugen – Founder of the British Sub-Aqua Club
• Bob Halstead – Underwater photographer, author, journalist and commentator on the recreational diving industry
• Mehgan Heaney-Grier – American free-diver, fashion model, actress, conservationist and television personality
• Paul Hosie – Australian cave diver
• Keith Jessop – British salvage diver and treasure hunter
• Richie Kohler – American technical diver and shipwreck historian
• Steve Lewis (diver) – Technical scuba diver and author
• John Mattera – American wreck diver and author (shipwreck discovery)
• Lesley Rochat – South African underwater photographer, filmmaker and environmental activist
• Willard Franklyn Searle – US Navy ocean engineer and developer of diving and salvage equipment and systems
• Bill Nagle – American wreck diving pioneer
• Aristotelis Zervoudis – Greek professional diver (born 1964)

See also

• Glossary of underwater diving terminology
• Outline of underwater diving – List of articles related to underwater diving grouped by topical relevance
• Index of underwater divers – Alphabetical listing of articles about underwater divers
• Index of underwater diving: A–M
• Index of underwater diving: N–Z – Alphabetical listings of underwater diving related topicsPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Index of recreational dive sites – Alphabetical listing of articles on porular places for recreational diving

Footnotes

1. Notability to qualify for this list is established by having, as a minimum requirement, cited mention in an article on English Misplaced Pages, in which their notability as a diver is explained.

References

1. Hanauer, Eric (1994). Diving pioneers: an oral history of diving in America. San Diego: Watersport Publishing Inc. p. 33. ISBN 0-922769-43-5. Retrieved 2009-09-08.

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