Benoît Rouquayrol (1826–1875) was a French inventor. Along with Auguste Denayrouze, Rouquayrol invented a

diving suit A diving suit is a garment or device designed to protect a diver from the underwater environment. A diving suit may also incorporate a breathing gas supply (such as for a standard diving dress or atmospheric diving suit), but in most cases th ...

and breathing apparatus.

Biography

Benoît Rouquayrol was born on 13 June 1826 in Espalion, in the

Aveyron Aveyron (; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron (river), Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as ''Aveyro ...

department of Southern France. He became an engineer at the Saint-Étienne School of Mines. He became employed at a company involved in bituminous coal mining and foundries in Aveyron, and became the director of accounting by 1865. In 1860, Rouquayrol became concerned with mine safety problems related to firedamp (flammable natural gases in coal mines). He created a rescue apparatus consisting of a pressurized gas chamber coupled to a

pressure regulator A pressure regulator is a valve that controls the pressure of a fluid to a desired value, using negative feedback from the controlled pressure. Regulators are used for gases and liquids, and can be an integral device with a pressure setting, a r ...

that he called the "Regulator for Equalization of Compressed Gas". In 1864, with the help of the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

Auguste Denayrouze (also of Aveyron), Rouquayrol created a

. which won the gold medal at the

1867 There were only 354 days this year in the newly purchased territory of Alaska. When the territory transferred from the Russian Empire to the United States, the calendric transition from the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar was made with only 1 ...

World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

, and drew the attention of the author

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

. Verne included the diving suit in his 1869-70 fictional depiction of a contemporary submarine voyage, ''

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' () is a science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may inclu ...

''. Rouquayrol died on 14 November 1875 in

Rodez Rodez (, , ; , ) is a small city and commune in the South of France, about 150 km northeast of Toulouse. It is the prefecture of the department of Aveyron, region of Occitania (formerly Midi-Pyrénées). Rodez is the seat of the communau ...

, Aveyron, France.

Chronology of patents and inventions

* April 14, 1860: Rouquayrol disclosed a patent for a regulator designed for a rescue-apparatus for miners who were victims of firedamp or asphyxiation * January 16, 1862: Rouquayrol disclosed a patent for the "Rouquayrol Isolator" composed of a regulator with a diving mask fitted over the nose and mouth, using a vulcanized rubber seal affixed inside a metallic beak. This system eliminated the need for a heavy metallic diving helmet. * August 25, 1863: a patent for a "hydraulic joint" pressurizing pump, in which the pistons were fixed and the body of the pump moved. Additionally, Rouquayrol contributed to related inventions in co-operation with Auguste Denayrouze and others.

References

External links

* (Diving Suit Museum), Escalion, France

from ''Undersea Warfare'', the official magazine of the U.S. Navy Submarine Force. Winter 2004. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rouquayrol, Benoit 1826 births 1875 deaths People from Espalion 19th-century French inventors