Albert Alvin Tillman (January 16, 1928 – January 16, 2004) was an American educator and

underwater diver Underwater diving, as a human activity, is the practice of descending below the water's surface to interact with the environment. It is also often referred to as diving, an ambiguous term with several possible meanings, depending on context ...

Biography

Tillman was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. He became interested in marine and underwater life when, at age 10, he peered through a pair of

goggles Goggles, or safety glasses, are forms of protective eyewear that usually enclose or protect the area surrounding the eye in order to prevent particulates, water or chemicals from striking the eyes. They are used in chemistry laboratories and ...

in the waters off

Redondo Beach, California Redondo Beach (Spanish for ''round'') is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located in the South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles area. It is one of three adjacent beach cities along the southern portion of Sa ...

. He soon became a

free diver Freediving, free-diving, free diving, breath-hold diving, or skin diving is a form of underwater diving that relies on apnea, breath-holding until resurfacing rather than the use of breathing apparatus such as scuba set, scuba gear. Besides the l ...

and served in the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, where he had the opportunity to dive around the world. He attended the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

on a football

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholars ...

and earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

public administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit est ...

in 1950. He later earned additional degrees in Recreation Management, including a master of arts from Los Angeles State College in 1956. Tillman and Bev Morgan developed the world's first public skin diving and

SCUBA diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for " Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chr ...

program while working for Los Angeles County, California in 1953. Tillman became a professor at California State College in Los Angeles (now California State University at Los Angeles) in 1956, and created the first university degree program in recreation and leisure studies, retiring in 1994. He also co-founded the Underwater Photographic Society with

Zale Parry Rosalia (Zale) Parry is an American pioneer scuba diver, underwater photographer and actress. Diving Parry started diving in the 1940s as a young girl. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1933, she was raised on a Wisconsin lake and learned to ...

. He opened the world's first dedicated dive resort, The Underwater Explorers Society (UNEXSO) in Freeport,

Grand Bahama Grand Bahama is the northernmost of the islands of the Bahamas, with the town of West End located east of Palm Beach, Florida. It is the third largest island in the Bahamas island chain of approximately 700 islands and 2,400 cays. The island i ...

Island. The resort included a full staff of instructors, a dive store, restaurant, museum, science lab, pools, photographic labs, and a fleet of boats, and catered to

millionaire A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. Depending on the currency, a certain level of prestige is associated with being a millionaire. In countries that use the short scal ...

movie star A movie star (also known as a film star or cinema star) is an actor or actress who is famous for their starring, or leading, roles in movies. The term is used for performers who are marketable stars as they become popular household names and wh ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

s, and

royalty Royalty may refer to: * Any individual monarch, such as a king, queen, emperor, empress, etc. * Royal family, the immediate family of a king or queen regnant, and sometimes his or her extended family * Royalty payment for use of such things as int ...

. Tillman co-founded the

National Association of Underwater Instructors The National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI Worldwide) is a non-profit association of scuba instructors. It primarily serves as a recreational dive certification and membership organization established to provide international div ...

(NAUI), the first international SCUBA diving certification agency, with Neal Hess in 1960. He worked all over the world to make dive training safer and more widespread, and planned to co-author four books on the history of diving titled ''Scuba America'' with Zale Parry, although only one of the four volumes was completed before his death. The books are now being completed by his son Thomas Tillman and Zale Parry. His personal memories of the early days of the sport were published in his book titled "I Thought I Saw Atlantis." He oversaw Dave Woodward's invention of the octopus regulator at UNEXSO around 1965–6. Along with

Jacques-Yves Cousteau Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (, also , ; 11 June 191025 June 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author. He co-invented the first successful Aqua-Lung, open-circuit SCUBA ( self-contained underwater breathing apparatus). T ...

, Tillman was an original inductee into the

International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame The International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame (ISDHF) is an annual event that recognizes those who have contributed to the success and growth of recreational scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use bre ...

in 2000. He received many lifetime achievement awards and honors during the 1990s and early 2000s. Aside from the tens of thousands of divers who have been certified by programs designed by Tillman he logged over 10,000 open water dives during his career and personally certified thousands of divers and instructors. Tillman died on his 76th birthday, in 2004, of a cerebral hemorrhage.

References

External links

DiveNewsWire obituary
on Tillman's book

fro
The Scuba Guy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tillman, Albert 1928 births 2004 deaths American underwater divers Underwater photographers United States Coast Guard enlisted USC Sol Price School of Public Policy alumni Los Angeles State College alumni United States Coast Guard personnel of World War II

Biography

See also

References

External links