History of Diving Museum

08/28/2026

Check out this historical footage of Bob Croft, Father of American Freediving!

07/29/2026

Happy birthday to William Beebe, born July 29, 1877!

Known as the “father of modern marine biology,” Beebe was an American explorer, biologist, and natural history writer.

Originally an ornithologist (someone who studies birds), Beebe developed a long-lasting fascination with the tropics after a 1903 expedition to the Florida Keys. In 1925, he led the Arcturus expedition to explore the South Seas, and brought along a boxed diving outfit: the Miami-made Miller-Dunn Divinhood. He began writing of his observations while diving, calling this underwater world the “society of wonders.”

Beebe then set his goals deeper. He worked with inventor and engineer Otis Barton to develop the Bathysphere, a small, unpowered, spherical submersible that allowed them to dive to a record-shattering depth of 3,028 feet in 1934 off the coast of Bermuda. Beebe described the fantastic creatures he observed at depth through a telephone line to the surface, and illustrator Else Bostelmann brought these descriptions to life, giving the world its first look at living deep sea creatures.

Beebe became known for writing about animals as they were alive in their natural habitats, rather than simply studying specimens, as was common practice at the time. After his dives in the Bathysphere, he wrote:

"After these dives were past, when I came again to examine deep-sea treasures in my nets, I would feel as an astronomer might who looks through his telescope after having rocketed to Mars and back, or like a paleontologist who could suddenly annihilate time and see his fossils alive."

Be sure to join the Museum on Saturday, August 15th at 11 AM and 2 PM for guided tours in honor of the anniversary of the deepest Bathysphere dive, set on August 15, 1934!

07/24/2026

Happy birthday to Amelia Earhart! Born July 24th, 1897.

While most well known for her aviation career, Earhart also took an interest in diving. In July 1929, she came aboard the Defender, a Navy-hired submarine docked in Brook Island, Rhode Island. She donned a diving dress used by renowned diver and Medal of Honor recipient Frank Crilley, who was present for her dive. Her attempt on July 22nd was cut short as her suit started to leak, and it was revealed that Crilley's wrist-cuffs were too large for her. She attempted a second dive the next day with new cuffs, and descended to 35 feet for 12 minutes.

Earhart said of the dive, when approached by the press; "It was nothing at all. Plenty of women have been deeper and stayed longer. Another time I hope to arrange a real dive sub-surface and [without publicity]."

She and another female diver, Dorothy Putnam, would descend in the Defender that same day, testing its newly-invented air pressure chamber. It was a day of many firsts, and she would return to flying shortly after.

07/23/2026

Today, we mourn the passing of diving legend Zale Parry. Sometimes called the “First Lady of Scuba,” Zale was a diving pioneer in every sense of the word.

Read the Museum's full article on Divenewswire here:

Today, we mourn the passing of diving legend Zale Parry. Sometimes called the “First Lady of Scuba,” Zale was a diving pioneer in every sense of the word. Zale learned to love the water from a young age; she once said, “I learned to swim when I was very small. As one of seven children, […]

07/18/2026

Learn all about the women pioneers of diving in today’s guided tours! These are included with your admission and available today at 11 AM and 2 PM for

07/17/2026

Join us tomorrow for our Women's Dive Day Guided Tours! Come learn about the pioneering women of diving history, alongside the 5,000 of the quest to explore under the sea within our exhibits. Tours will take place at 11 AM and again at 2 PM on Saturday, July 18. We'll see you there!

07/16/2026

Did you know? Dottie May Frazier was born July 15th, 1922. In 1955, she made history as the world’s first female scuba instructor.

Swimming by the age of 3, Dottie began her underwater adventures early. She participated in competitive sailing by the age of 6, and rescued her 5-year-old sister from drowning when she was only 7.

Recognizing her incredible talent for swimming and diving, Dottie’s father put her forward for the Junior Olympics when she was 10, but she was held back by a spinal injury. Despite this, she continued to free dive (or skin dive, as it was called) every chance she got, even before she was healed. By the 1940s, she was a skin diving instructor. When scuba equipment started to make its way onto the scene, Dottie was hesitant. Dottie recalls in an interview that her initial impression of scuba gear was: “[it] was for sissies, for people who couldn’t hold their breath long enough to catch their dinner.”

However, Dottie soon warmed up to the new equipment. In 1955, she applied for an available spot in an underwater instructors certification course, but was turned away and told the course was for men only. She told her friend, fellow diver Jim Christiansen, about the incident and he asked her if they returned her check. “When I told him no, they had not, he said, ‘Just be ready; I’m picking you up,’” Dottie recalled in 2016.

Despite pushback, Dottie successfully became a certified scuba instructor, and was the first woman in the world to do so. She was met with doubts by her mostly-male students that she could be a competent teacher, but she naturally proved them wrong. She operated her own dive shop in Long Beach, California for 15 years, designing and selling some of the first wetsuits made specifically for women.

Dottie was inducted into the Women Divers Hall of Fame in 2000. She passed away in February, 2022 at the age of 99. Her incredible legacy is detailed in her 2019 autobiography Trailblazer: The Extraordinary Life of Diving Pioneer, Dottie Frazier.

Happy birthday Dottie!

Be sure to join the History of Diving Museum this Saturday, July 18th at 11 AM and 2 PM in celebration of PADI Women’s Dive Day, and learn more about pioneering women like Dottie.

07/15/2026

Join us tonight for Immerse Yourself! Park at the Museum and hear from Dr. David Charash about the evolution of diving science and technology!

07/04/2026

Happy 4th of July, and happy 250th anniversary to the United States! The Museum will be open today for our regular hours, so be sure to stop by!