Jacques-Yves Cousteau

Why an honorary doctorate? 

In 1989, oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau received an honorary doctorate from VUB for his rich life and significant achievements.

Wonderful work

His contribution to the popularisation of science and thus to education in general was undeniable. His work, documentaries and books brought to the surface not only the wondrous underwater world, but also the grave consequences of environmental pollution. He thus opened up to the general public a world that would otherwise have remained closed to many forever. Cousteau worked tirelessly for the protection of Antarctica and that was the basis for a long-standing cooperation between the university and the Fondation Cousteau.

Underwater. There, Cousteau breathed in unhindered freedom, in a world without sound where mysteries unfold without ever being unravelled. "Man has been carrying gravity on his shoulders since birth, he is attached to the earth," said Cousteau. Simply, just exchange air for water, and a miracle happens. Water propels man encouragingly in all directions, without wings, and without protest. Looking beneath the surface; it is a small step for man, a large one for humanity. History repeats itself.

About his career

Scores of prizes

1956. Golden Palm Cannes for 'Le monde du silence';

1964: Oscar for 'Le monde sans soleil';

1975 Bafta Fellowship;

1985 Presidential Medal of Freedom for outstanding contributions.

1950: His oceanographic research vessel is christened 'Calypso'.

1966. Television special 'The World of Jacques-Yves Cousteau'.

Presidential Medal of Freedom: Awarded in 1985 by then President Ronald Reagan.

The water is never too deep.

He and his camera become an inseparable duo who become famous for their explorations of the underwater world.

Cousteau fulfilled a life as rich as the ocean is deep.

11 June 1910. In Saint-André-de-Cubzac, a picturesque municipality in the south-west of France, Jacques-Yves Cousteau draws his first breath. He is barely four years old when he learns to swim and his fascination with water is born.

Cousteau goes to school in Alsace and Paris and in 1930 ends up at the École Navale, the French naval academy in Brest. After his studies, he goes to work as an artilleryman in the information service of the French Navy. He and his camera are inseparable and he uses it to record countless memories from the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Jacques-Yves Cousteau throws himself into pilot training. But a serious car accident puts a stop to his career. He recovers in Toulon and discovers the wonders of the sea while underwater swimming. He wants nothing more than to understand the underwater world.

Cousteau wants to find a way to stay underwater longer at all costs. In 1943, together with an engineer, he develops the 'self-contained underwater breathing apparatus' or SCUBA, thus opening the door to undersea beauty for many.

The Second World War is still fresh in everyone's mind when Cousteau, together with naval officer Philippe Tailliez and diver Frédéric Dumas, continues to search for a way to explore life under water longer and more freely. They carry out diving experiments and are nicknamed 'Les Mousquemers', the musketeers of the sea.

It is now 1950. Cousteau converts an old minesweeper into an oceanographic research vessel, fully equipped with (diving) instruments for scientific research, and christens it 'Calypso'. It is with this Calypso that he and his crew spend decades exploring seas around the world.

But his expeditions cost a lot of money and Jacques Cousteau realises the importance of media attention; he wants to make people aware of what he is doing and why it is so important. In 1953, he publishes the book 'The Silent World', which is later filmed and awarded a prize. The success enables him to organise another trip to the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, sponsored by the French government and the National Geographic Society. Numerous expeditions follow, with which Cousteau brings the mysteries and beauty of the underwater world to people.

In 1966, he launches his first television special, "The World of Jacques-Yves Cousteau"; this is followed in 1968 by the television series "The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau", which keeps viewers hooked for nine seasons. Millions of people follow Cousteau and his crew on their fascinating sea voyages around the world. It is around this time that he begins to see how human activities are destroying the oceans.

The oceanographer writes several books including 'The Shark' (1970), 'Dolphins’ (1975) and 'Jacques Cousteau: The Ocean World’ (1985). Thanks to his fame and the support of many, he founds the Cousteau Society in 1973. In this way, he wants to draw attention to the ecosystems of the underwater world. Soon the organisation has 300,000 members worldwide.

In 1981, the Fondation Cousteau (later Équipe Cousteau) takes shape. It is from here that Cousteau in 1990 launches a worldwide petition to save Antarctica from mineral exploitation. With success, as the continent is protected for at least 50 years.

His immense influence is once again evident when Captain Cousteau receives an official invitation to participate in the UN Conference on Development and Environment in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.

1996 is not off to a good start. In January, the Calypso is rammed by another ship in Singapore harbour. An icon sinks. On 25 June 1997, Jacques, captain and commander, Cousteau dies unexpectedly in Paris. An icon is no more.

115 television films and 50 books, chaplain of the French Legion of Honour for his services in the resistance during WWII, director of the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco for 30 years, inscribed in the UN Environment Programme's Global 500 Roll of Honour of Environmental Protection and showered with awards: Cousteau fulfilled a life as rich as the ocean is deep.