Doug Allan

Her ashes are scattered over the Sea of Monaco, but Cousteau does not leave it long before marrying Francine, a move which creates an irreparable rift with his surviving son.

Yet, despite the fractures in his personal life, Cousteau's passion for protecting the oceans does not fade, even in his 80s.

When companies begin discussing plans to mine Antarctica for oil and minerals, Cousteau begins a worldwide campaign to stop them.

He meets with political leaders and collects more than a million signatures on an international petition.

To raise awareness, he makes a film, Lilliput in Antarctica, traveling to the icy continent with six children from different countries.

His efforts contribute to the establishment of a lasting ban on mining on the continent and its designation as a place of scientific research.

Continuing with his mission, he advocates for every child's right to inherit an uncontaminated planet, and eventually the wording of his Bill of Rights for Future Generations is approved by the UNESCO General Conference.

It is Cousteau's final triumph.

As if foreshadowing his decline, the Calypso sinks in 1996 in Singapore in a collision with a barge.

One of his team manages to salvage the wrecked boat to bring her home.

But before she reaches France, Cousteau suffers a heart attack and dies on June 25, 1997, at the age of 87 in Paris.

By the end of his life, he has been awarded every honor his home country can bestow.

At his funeral at the Cathedral of Notre Dame, President Jacques Chirac leads a thousand mourners, calling Cousteau an enchanter who represented the defense of nature, modern adventure, and the dreamy part at the heart of all of us.

Jacques Cousteau reshaped humanity's relationship with the sea.

Through his pioneering films, inventions, and expeditions, he brought the hidden world of the oceans into public view.

As a leading voice for marine conservation, he helped to protect the fragile environment he'd spent his life exploring.

Though his early work was marked by some controversial decisions and his later years by his complicated personal life, Cousteau's enduring achievement was to make the oceans not just a place of discovery, but a cause worth defending.

Next time on Short History, we'll bring you a short history of punk.

You can listen to the next two episodes of Short History of right now without waiting and without adverts by subscribing to Noisa Plus.

Just hit the link in the episode description or head to www.noisa.com forward slash subscriptions to unlock more episodes today.