History of scuba diving the high number of recreational scuba accidents. this started with informal training and led to the creation of training and certification agencies. BS-AC was formed in 1953, CMAS in 1959, NAUI in 1960 and PADI in 1966. The sport of scuba diving had its roots among the multitude of small enthusiastic snorkelling and spearfishing clubs in the decades just before and after the Second World War. After the invention of the "aqualung" by Cousteau and Gagnan, the first commercially marketed underwater breathing apparatus became available for sale for sporting purposes in the late 1940s. In 1951, Jim Auxie Jr and
Diving regulator which gained widespread acceptance. This came about after French naval officer Jacques-Yves Cousteau and engineer Émile Gagnan met for the first time in Paris. Gagnan, employed at Air Liquide, had miniaturized and adapted a Rouquayrol-Denayrouze regulator used for gas generators following severe fuel restrictions due to the German occupation of France; Cousteau suggested it be adapted for diving, which in 1864 was its original purpose. The single hose regulator, with a mouth held demand valve supplied with intermediate pressure gas from the cylinder valve mounted first stage, was invented by Australian Ted Eldred in the early 1950s in response to