John Ernest Williamson

John Ernest Williamson (8 December 1881 – 15 July 1966) invented the "photosphere" from which he filmed and photographed undersea.[2]

Biography

He was born in Liverpool, England[3] 1881 to Charles Williamson, a sea captain from Norfolk, Virginia[4]. Charles had invented a deep-sea tube, made of concentric iron rings, "which stretched like an accordion". The tube was used for underwater repair and for ship salvage. In 1912 Williamson while working as a reporter made undersea photographs and motion pictures.[2]

References

  1. ^ "Motion Pictures Under the Sea", Cleveland Moffett, The American Magazine, January 1915. Page 16.
  2. ^ a b "With Williamson Beneath the Sea". UCLA. http://www.cinema.ucla.edu/FIAF/Journal/html52/withwill.html. Retrieved 2009-08-22. "John Ernest Williamson (1881-1966) was active in motion pictures for nearly fifty years. His father was a sea captain, Charles Williamson of Norfolk, who had invented a deep-sea tube, made of a series of concentric, interlocking iron rings, which stretched like an accordion. Suspended from a specially outfitted ship, this shaft into the sea facilitated easy communication and plentiful air down to depths of up to 250 feet. When attached to a diving-bell type apparatus, the tube could be used for underwater repair and salvage work. In 1912, young Williamson, then a journalist, realized that his father's mechanism could also be used to obtain undersea photographs or even motion pictures. With a light hung from the mother ship to illuminate the sea in front of the tube, still photographs of the depths of Hampton Roads, Virginia, proved so successful that Williamson was urged to try motion pictures." 
  3. ^ International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame
  4. ^ American Museum of Natural History