Editing Jacques Cousteau (section)

===1950–1970s===
In 1949, Cousteau left the [[French Navy]].

In 1950, he founded the French Oceanographic Campaigns (FOC), and leased a ship called ''[[RV Calypso|Calypso]]'' from [[Thomas Loel Guinness]] for a symbolic one franc a year. Cousteau refitted the ''Calypso'' as a mobile laboratory for field research and as his principal vessel for diving and filming. He also carried out underwater archaeological excavations in the Mediterranean, in particular at [[List of islands of France#Provence-Alpes-Cotes-d'Azur|Grand-Congloué]] (1952).

With the publication of his first book in 1953, ''[[The Silent World: A Story of Undersea Discovery and Adventure|The Silent World]]'', Cousteau correctly predicted the existence of the [[Animal echolocation|echolocation]] abilities of [[porpoises]]. He reported that his research vessel, the ''Élie Monier'', was heading to the [[Straits of Gibraltar]] and noticed a group of porpoises following them. Cousteau changed course a few degrees off the optimal course to the center of the strait, and the porpoises followed for a few minutes, then diverged toward mid-channel again. It was evident that they knew where the optimal course lay, even if the humans did not. Cousteau concluded that the cetaceans had something like [[sonar]], which was a relatively new feature on [[submarines]].

In 1954, Cousteau conducted a survey of [[Abu Dhabi]] waters on behalf of British Petroleum. Among those accompanying him was [[Louis Malle]] who made a black-and-white film of the expedition for the company.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Morton|first1=Michael Quentin|title=Calypso in the Arabian Gulf: Jacques Cousteau's Undersea Survey of 1954|journal=Liwa|date=June 2015|volume=5|issue=9|pages=3–28|url=https://www.academia.edu/13056568|access-date=17 August 2016|archive-date=26 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426051607/https://www.academia.edu/13056568|url-status=live}}</ref> Cousteau won the {{Lang|fr|[[Palme d'Or]]|italic=no}} at the [[Cannes Film Festival]] in 1956 for ''[[The Silent World]]'' co-produced with Malle. In 1957, Cousteau took over as leader of the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco.<ref name=":0"/> Afterward, with the assistance of Jean Mollard, he made a [[SP-350 Denise|"diving saucer" SP-350]], an experimental underwater vehicle which could reach a depth of 350 meters. The successful experiment was quickly repeated in 1965 with two vehicles which reached 500 meters.

In 1957, he was elected as director of the [[Oceanographic Museum|Oceanographic Museum of Monaco]].<ref name=":0"/> He directed Précontinent, about the experiments of diving in saturation (long-duration immersion, houses under the sea), and was admitted to the [[United States National Academy of Sciences]].

He was involved in the creation of [[Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques]] and served as its inaugural president from 1959 to 1973.<ref>{{cite web|title=Jacques-Yves Cousteau (1959–1973)|url=http://history.cmas.org/jacques-yves-cousteau-1959-1973-130328095802|publisher=Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques|access-date=2 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150603002152/http://history.cmas.org/jacques-yves-cousteau-1959-1973-130328095802|archive-date=3 June 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Cousteau also took part in inventing the "SP-350 Denise Diving Saucer" in 1959 which was an invention best for exploring the ocean floor, as it allowed one to explore on solid ground.<ref name=":0" />

In October 1960, a large amount of [[radioactive waste]] was going to be discarded in the Mediterranean Sea by the [[Commissariat à l'énergie atomique]] (CEA). The CEA argued that the dumps were experimental in nature, and that French oceanographers such as [[Vsevolod Romanovsky]] had recommended it. Romanovsky and other French scientists, including [[Louis Fage]] and Jacques Cousteau, repudiated the claim, saying that Romanovsky had in mind a much smaller amount. The CEA claimed that there was little circulation (and hence little need for concern) at the dump site between Nice and Corsica, but French public opinion sided with the oceanographers rather than with the CEA atomic energy scientists. The CEA chief, [[Francis Perrin (physicist)|Francis Perrin]], decided to postpone the dump.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://jacobdarwinhamblin.com/books/poison-in-the-well/ | title=Poison in the Well: Radioactive Waste in the Oceans at the Dawn of the Nuclear Age | publisher=Rutgers University Press | author=Hamblin, Jacob Darwin | year=2008 | location=Piscataway, NJ | isbn=978-0813542201 |access-date=14 December 2018 }}</ref> Cousteau organized a publicity campaign which in less than two weeks gained wide popular support. The train carrying the waste was stopped by women and children sitting on the railway tracks, and it was sent back to its origin.
[[File:Cousteau en Calypso.jpg|thumb|150px|Cousteau on the ''Calypso'']]

In the 1960s, Cousteau was involved with a set of three projects to build [[Underwater habitat|underwater "villages"]]; the projects were named Precontinent I, Precontinent II and Precontinent III. Each ensuing project was aimed at increasing the depth at which people continuously lived under water, and were an attempt at creating an environment in which men could live and work on the sea floor. The projects are best known as Conshelf I (1962), [[Continental Shelf Station Two|Conshelf II (1963)]], and Conshelf III (1965). The names "Precontinent", and "Continental Shelf Station" (Conshelf) were used interchangeably by Cousteau.

A meeting with American television companies ([[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], [[Metromedia|Métromédia]], [[NBC]]) created the series ''[[The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau]]'', with the character of the commander in the red bonnet inherited from [[standard diving dress]] intended to give the films a "personalized adventure" style. This documentary television series ran for 10 years from 1966 to 1976. A second documentary series, ''The Cousteau Odyssey'', ran from 1977 to 1982 on public television stations.

In 1970, he wrote the book ''The Shark: Splendid Savage of the Sea'' with his son Philippe. In this book, Cousteau described the [[oceanic whitetip shark]] as "the most dangerous of all sharks".

In December 1972, two years after the volcano's last eruption, The Cousteau Society was filming ''[[Voyage to the Edge of the World|Voyage au bout du monde]]'' on [[Deception Island]], Antarctica, when Michel Laval, ''Calypso''{{'}}s second in command, was struck and killed by a rotor of the helicopter that was ferrying between ''Calypso'' and the island.<ref>{{cite news|title=Accident kills Cousteau aide in Argentina (30 December 1972)|url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1972/12/30/page/30/article/accident-kills-cousteau-aide-in-argentina|access-date=4 December 2016|agency=Chicago Tribune|archive-date=3 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703235644/http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1972/12/30/page/30/article/accident-kills-cousteau-aide-in-argentina/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Hero and Calypso at Deception Island 1972–73|url=http://www.palmerstation.com/history/6575/calypso.html|website=www.palmerstation.com|access-date=4 December 2016|archive-date=25 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025174154/http://www.palmerstation.com/history/6575/calypso.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1973, along with his two sons and Frederick Hyman, he created the Cousteau Society for the Protection of Ocean Life, Frederick Hyman being its first President.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

In 1975, [[John Denver]] released the tribute song "[[Calypso (John Denver song)|Calypso]]" on his album ''[[Windsong]]'', and on the B-side of his hit song "[[I'm Sorry (John Denver song)|I'm Sorry]]". "Calypso" became a hit on its own and was later considered the new A-side, reaching No. 2 on the charts.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

[[File:Jaques Yvez Cousteau Ramon Bravo PBY catalina calypsoII 1976.jpg|thumb|150px|Jaques-Yves Cousteau with [[Ramón Bravo]] in 1976]]
In 1976, Cousteau located the wreck of [[HMHS Britannic|HMHS ''Britannic'']], which had sunk on 21 November 1916 after striking a mine in the [[Kea Channel]], the third and final of the three {{sclass|Olympic|ocean liner|0}} liners and the younger sister to the [[RMS Olympic|RMS ''Olympic'']] and [[RMS Titanic|RMS ''Titanic'']].{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}  He also found the wreck of the French 17th-century ship-of-the-line ''[[La Therese (ship)|La Therese]]'' in coastal waters of [[Crete]].{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

In 1977, together with [[Peter Scott]], he received the UN International Pahlavi Environment prize.<ref>{{cite web|title=
Secretary-General awards International Pahlavi Environment Prize for 1977 to Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Sir Peter Scott | url = https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/4007366}}</ref>

On 28 June 1979, while the ''Calypso'' was on an expedition to [[Portugal]], his second son Philippe, his preferred and designated successor and with whom he had co-produced all his films since 1969, died in a [[Consolidated PBY Catalina|PBY Catalina]] flying boat crash in the Tagus River near Lisbon. Cousteau was deeply affected. He called his eldest son, the architect Jean-Michel, to his side. This collaboration lasted 14 years.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}