Scuba Diving History

The history of scuba diving finds its root in the same endeavor that has propelled so many other discoveries: warfare. In an effort to continue its quest for the domination of the known world, ancient Roman and Greek soldiers and mercenaries sought for ways to maximize the efficiency of their war efforts, and since much of the distance in those times had to be traversed by water, it was only a matter of time until an enterprising general came up with the idea of attacking the enemies ships from under water.

The noted Greek recorder of history Herodotus - who is acknowledged for the narrative details of political events that led to the Peloponnesian War, the settling of Thurii, and also the man who preserved the name of Scyllis, a Greek soldier credited with using the first snorkel in scuba diving history to disband an enemy fleet of boats – is said to have inspired the war faring states of neighboring islands to begin experimenting in earnest with breathing under water, thus ushering in the use of diving bells, goggles, and about a thousand years later even crude air tanks that are now prominently featured in displays educating the public about the history of scuba diving.

It was not until the 18th century that history - on scuba diving forums this is sometimes referred to as the era of enlightenment in scuba diving history - records the earnest contemplation of the subject by mainstream writers, inventors, and crack scientists. While many of their inventions and ideas are lost to scuba diving history, there are some highlights that have survived and are now firmly ensconced in the sport’s history: scuba diving’s first helmet (1829), diving suit (1837), and diving regulator (1865).

The annals of scuba diving history are littered with the names of hopefuls, who tested the equipment only to suffer greatly as a result of restricted air, re-breathing of oxygen poor air, decompression sickness and also the names of the unfortunates who died during the experiments. Many an unknown inventor gave his life in an effort to make scuba diving history by racing against others in the field to be the first to come up with the winning blueprint for a suit and helmet combination. Yet their contributions at the time served to help others not make the same mistakes and through much of tragic trial and error, the sport we know today as scuba diving was made possible by the brave souls who sought to find military applications that would help those under water to win and end wars.