science · 29 July 1877 · 147 years ago
birth
Born 29 Jul 1877; died 4 Jun 1962 at age 84.
Charles William Beebe was an American biologist, explorer and writer on natural history who combined careful biological research with a rare literary skill. As director of tropical research for the New York Zoological Society from 1919, he led scientific expeditions to many parts of the world. Theodore Roosevelt took his advice on the conservation of species and environment. He was the coinventor of the bathysphere, a spherical diving-vessel for use in underwater observations. In 1934, with Otis Barton, he descended in his bathysphere to a then record depth of 3,028 feet (923 metres) in Bermuda waters on 15 Aug 1934. Later dives reached depths of around 1.5 km (nearly 1 mile). He was a mentor to Rachel Carson.
OnThisDay.net