Auguste Piccard
Auguste Piccard, (1884-1962). Swiss physicist. A member of a famous family of scholars, scientists, and explorers, he pioneered stratosphere flights in a balloon to observe cosmic rays and other phenomena of the atmosphere. In this he was assisted by his twin brother Jean Felix (1884-1963), a chemist. Auguste completed a bathyscape (diving bell) in 1948 and descended over 3,000 m in it (1953). His son Jacques (1922- ) descended to 10,917 m in his bathyscape Trieste in 1960.
