Who was the first scuba diver?
Man has always longed to spend some quality time with the creatures of the deep blue. Maybe it’s because of the unknown nature of the ocean’s depths. For centuries, it was largely a mystery, only viewed from topside. Tales of giant squid and other man-eating aquatic monsters are as much a part of seafaring history as schooners and frigates. Just like outer space, the vastness of the ocean has always captured man’s attention and inspired exploration. So much that early attempts at diving date all the way back to the time of Alexander the Great who, legend has it, used a diving bell to journey down as far as 600 feet (182 meters) into the ocean. While this is likely the stuff of legends, genuine strides were made in the late 1600s as innovators like Denis Papin and Edmund Halley made deep sea submersion in a diving bell a reality. Deep-sea diving suits, known as diving dresses, were next to hit the scene. In 1823, John
