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
The Silent World: A Story of Undersea Discovery and Adventure and 16 pages of color photos, made available by "National Geographic Magazine". The hand-held work in Ektachrome "is the first ever made in significant depths, using artificial light and scientific color correction." The Silent World: A Story of Undersea Discovery and Adventure The Silent World (subtitle: "A story of undersea discovery and adventure, by the first men to swim at record depths with the freedom of fish") is a 1953 book co-authored by Captain Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Frédéric Dumas, and edited by James Dugan. Although a French national, Cousteau wrote the book in English. Cousteau and Émile Gagnan designed, built,