Dr. Christian J. Lambertsen dies at 93; inventor of scuba gear

[n2doc]

By Sally A. Downey, Philadelphia Inquirer
March 7, 2011


Dr. Christian J. Lambertsen, who developed the first self-contained underwater breathing apparatus — scuba gear — while studying medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in the 1930s and '40s, died Feb. 11 at a retirement home in Newtown, Pa. He was 93.

Lambertsen began experimenting with homemade diving equipment as a youth, when he became an expert swimmer while working at resorts along New Jersey's Barnegat Bay.

At the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, beginning in 1939, he worked on his diving apparatus by using parts from anesthesia machines.

In 1941, with war imminent, he contacted the military about his apparatus and began working with the Army's Office of Strategic Services.


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/obituaries/la-me-christian-lambertsen-20110307,0,5351115.story

I always thought Cousteau invented Scuba. Apparently there were many steps along the way, Cousteau was the first to come up with a commercially viable system.

http://www.reefscuba.com/inventors.htm

[Scuba]

1. Thanks for posting.

[ladjf]

2. As best as I can recall, Cousteau and one of his assistants

improved the breathing regulator, making SCUBA easier and safer to use. nt