Jacques-Yves Cousteau, June 11, 1910 - June 25, 1997, was a French naval officer, environmentalist, filmmaker, scientist and undersea explorer. Commonly called Captain Cousteau, he is best known for his oceanographic adventures aboard the ship Calypso. Cousteau also produced books and films about the sea and its life. His television series The Underwater World of Jacques-Yves Cousteau brought the maritime world into every household and made deep-sea exploration accessible to armchair travelers. While Jacques Cousteau spent most of his time studying the world's oceans, he also cared about Antarctica. In fact, he successfully launched a worldwide petition to save the continent from mineral exploitation.