Thanks to Michael Barton, FCD we would have almost forgotten to honor the anniversary of William Beebe's birth. He lived from July 29, 1877 to June 4, 1962. Here is a little info:
"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. 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)."
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Quotes from Beebe'sHalf-Mile Down in which he describes his and Otis Barton's 1934 descent to 3,028 feet off Bermuda. To reach this depth the two placed themselves into a self-designed 4,500lb sphere about five feet in diameter raised and lowered from a ship by a cable.
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How's that pronounced, anyway? "Beeb" or "Bee-bee".
I have heard it pronounced Bee-bee. As the second photo shows, I got a chance to visit one of the bathyspheres on display at the NY Aquarium. It is frightfully small and scarier still when you realize they were using open pans of soda lime to absorb their CO2. Cold, dark and cramped. Amazing.
Bebee was the consummate showman, but it was really Otis Barton who did the hard work.
its pronounced "Bee-Bee" and thats my great great grandfather :) Amazing man.