Jacques Piccard

Jacques Piccard (28 July 1922 – 1 November 2008) was a Swiss oceanographer and engineer, known for having developed underwater vehicles for studying ocean currents. 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 the Earth's crust, the Challenger Deep, in the Mariana Trench located in the western North Pacific Ocean.

Family life

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 has the unique distinction of breaking world records for both the highest flight and the deepest dive.