Jacques Piccard

Jacques Piccard
Jacques Piccard (1979)
Born	(1922-07-28)28 July 1922 Brussels, Belgium
Died	1 November 2008(2008-11-01) (aged 86) Cully, Switzerland
Nationality	Swiss
Known for	Bathyscaphe
Notable awards	Hubbard Medal (2012)

Jacques Piccard (28 July 1922 – 1 November 2008) was a Swiss oceanographer and engineer, known for having developed underwater vehicles for studying ocean currents. In the Challenger Deep, he and Lt. Don Walsh of the United States Navy were the first people to explore the deepest part of the world's ocean, and the deepest location on the surface of Earth's crust, the Mariana Trench, located in the western North Pacific Ocean.

Jacques Piccard was born in Brussels, Belgium to Auguste Piccard, who was himself an adventurer and engineer. Jacques' father Auguste twice beat the record for reaching the highest altitude in a balloon, during 1931–1932. The Piccard family thus had the unique distinction of breaking world records for both the highest flight and the deepest dive.

Jacques's father, who had already set altitude records in his balloon, started using the buoyancy technique used in balloons for developing a submersible vehicle, the bathyscaphe. Jacques initially started out his career by teaching economics at University of Geneva while continuing to help his father improve the bathyscaphe to demonstrate its potential for operating in deep waters. During that period Piccard also completed a diploma at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva. Together, Piccard and his father built three bathyscaphes between 1948 and 1955, which reached record depths of 4,600 feet and 10,000 feet (the last one was bought by the government). With this success, the younger Piccard abandoned economics to collaborate with his father on further improving the bathyscaphe and demonstrating its practicality for exploration and research.

Jacques's son Bertrand Piccard is continuing his family traditions. He commanded the first non-stop balloon flight around the world in March 1999.