Christian James Lambertsen (May 15, 1917 – February 11, 2011) was an American

environmental medicine Environmental medicine is a multidisciplinary field involving medicine, environmental science, chemistry and others, overlapping with environmental pathology. It can be viewed as the medical branch of the broader field of environmental health. Th ...

and diving medicine specialist who was principally responsible for developing the United States Navy frogmen's rebreathers in the early 1940s for underwater warfare. Lambertsen designed a series of rebreathers in 1940 (patent filing date: 16 Dec 1940) and in 1944 (patent issue date: 2 May 1944) and first called his invention ''breathing apparatus''. Later, after the war, he called it ''Laru'' ( acronym for

Lambertsen Amphibious Respiratory Unit The Lambertsen Amphibious Respiratory Unit (LARU) is an early model of closed circuit oxygen rebreather used by military frogmen. Christian J. Lambertsen designed a series of them in the US in 1940 (patent filing date: 16 Dec 1940) and in 1944 (i ...

) and finally, in 1952, he changed his invention's name again to SCUBA (Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus). Although diving regulator technology was invented by

Émile Gagnan Émile Gagnan (1900 – 1984) was a French engineer and, in 1943, co-inventor with French Navy diver Jacques-Yves Cousteau of the Aqua-Lung, the diving regulator (a.k.a. demand-valve) used for the first Scuba equipment. The demand-valve, or re ...

and Jacques-Yves Cousteau in 1943 and was unrelated to rebreathers, the current use of the word SCUBA is largely attributed to the Gagnan-Cousteau invention. The US Navy considers Lambertsen to be "the father of the Frogmen".

Education

Lambertsen was born in Westfield, New Jersey, and raised in

Scotch Plains, New Jersey Scotch Plains is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. The township is located on a ridge in northern- central New Jersey, within the Raritan Valley and Rahway Valley regions in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 201 ...

, where he graduated from Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School in 1935; he was inducted into his high school's hall of fame in 2016. He attended Rutgers University in

New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat, seat of government of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey."Christian Lambertsen, Inventor of Scuba Precursor, Dies at 93"
'' The New York Times'', February 25, 2011. Accessed March 5, 2011. "Christian James Lambertsen was born in Westfield, N.J., on May 17, 1917, one of four children of Chris and Ellen Lambertsen." He graduated from University of Pennsylvania Medical School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1943. Lambertsen was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree from Northwestern University in 1977.

Army career

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Lambertsen served in the

U.S. Army Medical Corps The Medical Corps (MC) of the U.S. Army is a staff corps (non-combat specialty branch) of the U.S. Army Medical Department (AMEDD) consisting of commissioned medical officers – physicians with either an M.D. or a D.O. degree, at least one ye ...

from 1944 to 1946. He invented the first Self-contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus (SCUBA) and demonstrated it to the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the intelligence agency of the United States during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all branc ...

(OSS) (after already being rejected by the U.S. Navy) in a pool at a hotel in Washington, D.C. OSS not only bought into the concept, they hired Major Lambertsen to lead the program and build-up the dive element of their maritime unit. He was vital in establishing the first cadres of U.S. military operational combat swimmers during late World War II. The OSS was also the predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the maritime element still exists inside their Special Activities Division. His responsibilities included training and developing methods of combining self-contained diving and swimmer delivery including the

for the OSS "Operational Swimmer Group". Following World War II, he trained U.S. forces in methods for submerged operations, including composite fleet

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

/ operational swimmers activity.

Civilian career

From 1946 to 1953, Lambertsen served on the faculty of the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, though he did spend a year as a Visiting Research Associate Professor from 1951 to 1952 for the Department of Physiology at University College London, England. Lambertsen spent the 1950s concentrating on national research needs in undersea medicine (see National Service Activities below). He again took an appointment as Professor of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1962. He was also named Professor of Medicine in 1972 and Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in 1976. Each of these appointments were held until 1987. In 1985, he became

Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

Distinguished Professor of Environmental Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Lambertsen was the founder and director of The Environmental Biomedical Stress Data Center at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The University of Pennsylvania's annual Christian J. Lambertsen Honorary Lecture is named for him. On May 31, 2007 the guest speaker was Professor Marc Feldmann, head of

Imperial College Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

's Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology who is recognised for his discovery of anti- TNF treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. Dr. Lambertsen was in attendance.

Contributions to environmental medicine

Predictive Studies Series

Dr. Lambertsen's "Predictive Studies Series", spanning from 1969 with TEKTITE I to 1997, researched many aspects of humans in extreme environments.

Awards

University and national civilian awards and honors

* 1948–195
John and Mary R. Markle
Scholar in Medical Science * 1965 University of Pennsylvania Alumni Award of Merit * 1967 Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching * 1969 NASA Commendation * 197
Aerospace Medical Association
Award * 1970 Undersea Medical Society Award * 197
Marine Technology Society
Award for Ocean Science and Engineering * 197
Underwater Society of America
Award for Science * 1974 New York Academy of Sciences Award for Research in Environmental Science * 1977 Member, National Academy of Engineering * 1977 Doctor of Science Honorary Degree, Northwestern University * 1977 Fellow
College of Physicians of Philadelphia
* 1978 Distinguished Award for Individuals, Offshore Technology Conference * 1979 Award in Environmental Science, Aerospace Medical Association * 1979 Award for Naval Undersea Research Training, Undersea Medical Society * 198
Association of Diving Contractors
Award * 1984 Endowed Visiting Lectureship, Sterling Pharmaceutical Corporation * 1989 Distinguished Medical Graduate Award, University of Pennsylvania * 1992 Boerema Award, Hyperbaric Oxygen Research, Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society * 199
UDT-SEAL Association
Lifetime Achievement Award * 1995 Department of Defense Citation * 1997 UDT-SEAL Association: Honorary Lifetime Membership * 1998 US Army Special Forces tab and Green Beret, formally inducted into 1st Special Forces Regiment US Army * 1999 Beneath the Sea: Lifetime Achievement Award * 2001 Pioneer Award �
Navy Historical Society
* 2001 CJL Oxygen Symposium X, Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society * 2007 American College of Physicians Fellowship Award 2007 * 2010 The John Scott Award, City of Philadelphia

Military service and related awards

* 1945

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

, U.S. Army * 1945 Major General

William J. Donovan William Joseph "Wild Bill" Donovan (January 1, 1883 – February 8, 1959) was an American soldier, lawyer, intelligence officer and diplomat, best known for serving as the head of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the precursor to the Bur ...

, U.S.A., Director, Office of Strategic Services * 1945 Lt. Colonel H. Q. A. Reeves, British Army * 1945 Lt. Commander Derek A. Lee, R.N.V.R., Burma * 1945 Colonel Sylvester C. Missal, M.C., U.S.A., Chief Surgeon, Office of Strategic Services * 1945 Commander H. G. A. Wooley, D.S.C., R.N., Director, Maritime Unit, Office of Strategic Services * 1946 Presidential Unit Citation, O.S.S. Unit 101, Burma, Dwight D. Eisenhower * 1946 U.S.

Army Commendation Ribbon The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

, Citation from Major General Norman Kirk, M.C., Surgeon General, U.S. Army * 1946 Admiral J. F. Farley, Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard * 1946 Colonel H. W. Doan, M.C., Executive Officer, Surgeon General's Office, U.S. Army * 1947 Colonel George W. Read Jr., President, U.S. Army Ground Forces, Board No. 2 * 1948 General Jacob L. Devers, U.S.A. Commanding General, U.S. Army Ground Forces * 1969 Meritorious Civilian Service Award, Secretary of the Navy * 1969 Military Oceanography Award, Secretary of the Navy * 1972

Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Award The Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service is the highest award that is presented by the Secretary of Defense, to a private citizen, politician, non-career federal employee, or foreign national. It is presented for exceptiona ...

* 1972 Secretary of the Navy Certificate of Commendation for Advisory Service, Committee on Undersea Warfare, National Academy of Sciences * 1976 Distinguished Public Service Award, United States Coast Guard * 1978 Certificate of Commendation for Outstanding Service on Secretary of the Navy Oceanographic Advisory Committee * 1995 British Embassy Citation * 1995 U.S. Army Special Forces Underwater Operations School Award: Lifetime Achievement * 1996 U.S. Special Forces Green Beret Award * 2001 U.S. Special Operations Command Medal * 2005 US Chief of Naval Operations Citation

National service activities

* 1953–1960, 1962–1971 Committee on Naval Medical Research, National Research Council * 1953–1972 Committee on Undersea Warfare, National Research Council * 1953–1956 Chairman, Panel on Underwater Swimmers, Committee on Undersea Warfare, National Research Council * 1954–1960 Chairman, Panel on Shipboard and Submarine Medicine, Committee on Naval Medicine Research, National Research Council * 1954–1961 Advisory Panel on Medical Sciences, Office of Assistant

Secretary of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

, R and E * 1955–1959 Consultant,

U.S. Army Chemical Corps The Chemical Corps is the branch of the United States Army tasked with defending against chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) weapons. The Chemical Warfare Service was established on 28 June 1918, combining activities that until ...

* 1959–1961 Consultant, Scientific Advisory Board, U.S. Air Force * 1960–1962 Chairman, Committee on Man-in-Space, Space Science Board,

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

* 1960–1962 Member, Space Science Board, National Academy of Sciences * 1962–1980 Consultant, Space Science Board, National Academy of Sciences * 1967–1970 Member, President's Space Panel, PSAC * 1968–1977 Oceanographic Advisory Committee,

Office of Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head ( chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the s ...

* 1972 Consultant to the Diving Physiology and Technology Panel, U.S.-Japan Cooperative Program in Natural Resources,

U.S. Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

* 1972–1977 Biomedical Sciences Advisor, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Dept. of Commerce * 1973–1977 Member, The Marine Board, National Academy of Engineering * 1973 Member, Smithsonian Advisory Board * 1983 Chairman, Environmental Sciences Review Committee,

National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding th ...

(NASA) * 1983–1986 National Undersea Research Center Advisory Board, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration * 1983–1985 Space Medicine Advisory Panel, National Aeronautics and Space Administration * 1984–1986 Lunar Base Planning Group, National Aeronautics and Space Administration * 1989–1991 NASA Radiation and Environmental Health Working Group * 1991–1993 NASA Life Sciences Division Environmental Biomedical Sciences Working Group * 1992 NASA Life Sciences. Science and Technical Requirements Document for Space Station Freedom * 1993 NASA

JSC JSC may refer to: * Jane Street Capital, a global proprietary trading firm * Johnson State College, one of the Vermont State Colleges, and located at Johnson, Vermont, United States * Jeffree Star Cosmetics, an American cosmetics franchise * Joi ...

Medical Advisory Board, Hubble Space Telescope Repair EVA * 1995 NASA JSC "In-Suit" Doppler Panel * 1998 Chairman, NASA Advisory Panel, Committee on ISS Decompression Risk Definition & Contingency Plan * 1998–1999 Chairman, NASA Life Sciences Decompression Research Peer Reviews

Bibliography

Refereed journals

* * * * * * * * * * * * Lambertsen, C. J. Physiologic factors in human organ oxygen tolerance extension. SPUMS 20(2): 109–120, April–May 1990. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Gelfand, R., C.J. Lambertsen, J.M. Clark, N. Egawa and C.D. Puglia. Ventilatory and cardiac adjustments during rapid compressions to pressure equivalents of 400-800-1200-1600 feet of sea water. Med. Aeronaut. Spatiale Med. Subaquat. Hyperbare. 17(65): 114–116, 1978. * Lambertsen, C.J., J.P.W. Cunnington and J.R.M. Cowley. The dynamics and composition of spontaneous, continuous gas embolism in the pig during isobaric gas counterdiffusion. Fed. Proc. 34: 452, 1975. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Lambertsen, C.J., and R.W. Bullard (eds.). Temperature limitations in manned undersea and aerospace operations. Aerospace Med. 41: 1263–1288, 1970. * * * Lambertsen, C.J. (ed.). Modern aspects of treatment of decompression sickness. Aerospace Med. 39: 1055–1093, 1968. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Lambertsen, C.J. Problems of shallow water diving. Report based on experiences of operational swimmers of the Office of Strategic Services. Occup. Med. 3: 230–245, 1947. * Lambertsen, C.J., and L. Godfrey. A small efficient hood for oxygen therapy. J.A.M.A. 125: 492–493, 1944. * Lambertsen, C.J. A diving apparatus for life saving work. J.A.M.A. 116: 1387–1389, 1941. * Atkinson, W.J. Jr., J.L. Dean, E.H. Kennerdell and C.J. Lambertsen. A multiple anomaly of the human heart and pulmonary veins. Anat. Record 78(3): 383–388, 1940.

Patents

* 1944 for Use Under Water * 1944 for Use Under Water * 1947 * 1948 for Use Under Water * 1952 for Breathing Apparatus * 1957 for Oxygen Rebreathing Apparatus * 1959 for use Under Water * 1974 * 1974 for Underwater Work and Oil Trapping * 1989

References

External links

Lambertsen Publications

National Academy of Engineering listing

The Environmental Biomedical Stress Data Center Brochure

* ttp://www.therebreathersite.nl/Zuurstofrebreathers/USA/photos_lambertsen.htm Images of his rebreather
New York Times Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lambertsen, Christian J. 1917 births 2011 deaths American medical researchers United States Army personnel of World War II American underwater divers Diving engineers People from Scotch Plains, New Jersey People from Westfield, New Jersey Recipients of the Legion of Merit Rutgers University alumni Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School alumni United States Army Medical Corps officers Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania alumni University of Pennsylvania faculty Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Military personnel from New Jersey