Joseph-Martin Cabirol

Who is Joseph-Martin Cabirol?

Joseph-Martin Cabirol was a French man. In 1855 he patented a new model of standard diving dress in Paris, mainly from Augustus Siebe's designs, and afterwards he made them. The suit is made out of rubberized canvas. The helmet, for the first time, includes a hand-controlled tap that the diver uses to evacuate his exhaled air. The tap includes a safety valve which stops water from entering the helmet. Until 1855 diving helmets were equipped with only three circular windows. Cabirol's helmet introduced the later well known fourth window, in the upper front part of the helmet and letting the diver watch above him. Having been presented to the Exposition Universelle in Paris Cabirol's diving dress won the silver medal. This original diving dress and helmet are now preserved at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers in Paris.

His gravestone has a carving of a goat on it, as 'cabirol' is Occitanian for "goat".