- See the Glossary of underwater diving terminology for definitions of technical terms, jargon, diver slang and acronyms used in underwater diving
- See the Outline of underwater diving for a hierararchical listing of underwater diving related articles
- See the Outline of underwater divers for a hierararchical listing of biographical articles on underwater divers
- See the Index of underwater diving for an alphabetical listing of underwater diving related articles
- See the Index of recreational dive sites for an alphabetical listing of underwater dive site related articles
The following index is provided as an overview of and topical guide to underwater divers:
Underwater divers are people who take part in underwater diving activities – Underwater diving is practiced as part of an occupation, or for recreation, where the practitioner submerges below the surface of the water or other liquid for a period which may range between seconds to in the order of a day at a time, either exposed to the ambient pressure or isolated by a pressure resistant suit, to interact with the underwater environment for pleasure, competitive sport, or as a means to reach a work site for profit or in the pursuit of knowledge, and may use no equipment at all, or a wide range of equipment which may include breathing apparatus, environmental protective clothing, aids to vision, communication, propulsion, maneuverability, buoyancy and safety equipment, and tools for the task at hand.
This index provides links to Wikipedia articles about people who are notable for some aspect of their underwater diving activity.
A
- Andrew Abercromby – Biomedical engineer from Scotland working for NASA
- Joseph M. Acaba – American educator, hydrogeologist, and NASA astronaut
- Eduard Admetlla i Lázaro – Catalan scuba diving pioneer and underwater filmmaker
- Samir Alhafith – Australian technical diver, cave explorer and adult underwater filmmaker
- Clayton Anderson – Retired NASA astronaut and member of the ISS Expedition 15 crew
- Deborah Andollo – Cuban free diver and diving instructor
- David Apperley – Australian cave diver
- Michael Arbuthnot – Underwater archaeologist and film-maker
- Ricardo Armbruster – Spanish ecologist, adventurer and entrepreneur
- Richard R. Arnold – American educator and NASA astronaut
- David Attenborough – British broadcaster and naturalist (born 1926)
- Serena Auñón-Chancellor – American physician, engineer, and NASA astronaut
B
- Carole Baldwin – Vertebrate Zoology department chair at the National Museum of Natural History
- Roger Baldwin (diver) represented by Waage Drill II diving accident – A fatal saturation diving accident in the North Sea in 1975
- Robert Ballard – Retired US Navy officer and professor of oceanography
- Michael C. Barnette – American underwater diver, author and founder of the Association of Underwater Explorers
- Michael Barratt (astronaut) – American aerospace medicine physician and a NASA astronaut with two flights
- George Bass – American pioneer of underwater archaeology (1932–2021)
- Bob Behnken – US Air Force officer, NASA astronaut and former Chief of the Astronaut Office (born 1970)
- David Bellamy – English professor, botanist, author, broadcaster and environmental campaigner
- Tamara Benitez – Filipina cinematographer
- John Bennett (diver) – British technical diver and former record holder lost in commercial diving incident
- Victor Berge – Swedish diving pioneer and author
- Georges Beuchat – French inventor, diver and businessman
- Pascal Bernabé – French claimant to scuba diving depth record
- Adrian Biddle – English cinematographer
- Jonathan Bird – American photographer, cinematographer, director and television host.
- Peppo Biscarini – Italian and American swimmer, freediver, and actor
- Leigh Bishop – Diver known for shipwreck exploration and photography
- Mensun Bound – British marine archaeologist
- Henri Bource – Dutch-Australian scuba diver, underwater filmmaker, musician and shark attack survivor
- Louis Boutan – French biologist, photographer and zoologist
- Jim Bowden (diver) – Record breaking technical and cave diver
- Hugh Bradner – American physicist, neoprene wetsuit inventor (1915–2008)
- Ramón Bravo – Mexican diver photographer and underwater filmmaker
- Randolph Bresnik – United States Marine Corps officer and a NASA astronaut on three expeditions
- Allan Bridge – American conceptual artist (1945–1995)
- Lloyd Bridges – American actor (1913–1998)
- David Bright (diver) – Wreck diver
- Timothy J. Broderick – Professor of Surgery and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Cincinnati
- Justin Brown (aquanaut) – American professional aquanaut and habitat technician
C
- James F. Cahill – American scuba diving pioneer (1926–2008)
- Sara Campbell – British free diver and former world record holder
- Derya Can – Turkish world record holder female free-diver
- Berry L. Cannon – American aquanaut who died in a diving incident
- Scott Carpenter – American astronaut and aquanaut (1925–2013)
- Scott Cassell – American underwater film maker.
- Craig Challen – Australian veterinary surgeon and technical diver
- Gregory Chamitoff – Canadian born engineer and NASA astronaut (born 1962)
- Steve Chappell – American aerospace engineer
- John Chatterton – American wreck diver, co-host for History Channel's Deep Sea Detectives series
- Eric Cheng – Taiwanese American entrepreneur and professional photographer
- Cathy Church – American marine biologist, diver, photographer and educator
- Eugenie Clark – American ichthyologist, shark researcher and scientific scuba diver
- Goran Čolak – Croatian free-diver and world record holder
- Catherine Coleman – American chemist and former United States Air Force officer and NASA astronaut
- Neville Coleman – Australian naturalist, underwater photographer, writer, publisher and educator
- Robin Cook – American physician and novelist (born 1940)
- Craig B. Cooper – American aquanaut
- Carlos Coste – Venezuelan freediver and world record holder
- Cotton Coulson – Photographer known for his work for National Geographic magazine
- Fabien Cousteau – Aquanaut, ocean conservationist, and documentary filmmaker
- Jacques Cousteau – French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author
- Jean-Michel Cousteau – French oceanographic explorer
- Philippe Cousteau – French diver and cinematographer (1940–1979)
- Cláudio Coutinho – Brazilian football manager and coach
- Lionel Crabb – Royal Navy frogman and MI6 diver
- John D. Craig – American businessman, writer, soldier, and diver
- Timothy Creamer – NASA flight director, astronaut and US Army officer
- Robert Croft – American freediver and US Navy diving instructor
- Ben Cropp – Australian documentary filmmaker, conservationist and spearfisherman
- Mandy-Rae Cruickshank – Canadian world champion freediver and record holder
- Clive Cussler – American novelist and underwater explorer (1931–2020)
D
- Yasemin Dalkılıç – Turkish freediver and record holder
- E. Yale Dawson – American botanist and taxonomist
- John Day (carpenter) – First recorded death in a diving chamber
- Charles Anthony Deane – Pioneering diving engineer and inventor of a surface supplied diving helmet
- Billy Deans (diver) – American pioneering wreck and technical diver
- Bernard Delemotte – French diver and photographer (1939–2023)
- James P. Delgado – American maritime archaeologist, explorer and author
- François de Roubaix – French film score composer
- Auguste Denayrouze – French inventor of a demand air supply regulator for underwater diving
- Leonardo D'Imporzano – Italian free-diver and AIDA International Judge
- Philippe Diolé – French author and undersea explorer
- Jonathan Dory – Human Systems Integration Lead at NASA's Johnson Space Center
- David Doubilet – Underwater photographer and author
- Deon Dreyer – South African diver
- Milan Dufek – Czech singer, composer and musician
- Frédéric Dumas – French pioneer of scuba diving
E
- Sylvia Earle – American marine biologist and lecturer
- Flavia Eberhard – Brazilian free-diver and presenter of TV series "APNEIA"
- Mark Ellyatt – British technical diver and previous depth record holder
- Ted Eldred – Australian inventor of the single hose diving regulator
- Jeanette Epps – American aerospace engineer and NASA astronaut
- Şahika Ercümen – Turkish dietician and world record holding freediver
- Sheck Exley – American cave and deep diving pioneer and record breaker
F
- Albert Falco – French scuba diver, chief diver and captain of the Calypso
- Maurice Fargues – French navy diver and first scuba fatality using aqualung for a depth record attempt
- Martyn Farr – British cave diver
- Emma Farrell – British freediving instructor and author
- Maurice Fernez – French inventor and pioneer in underwater breathing apparatus
- Francisco Ferreras – Cuban freediver also known as "Pipin"
- Andrew J. Feustel – American-Canadian NASA astronaut and geophysicist
- Michael Fincke – United States Air Force officer and NASA astronaut
- John Christopher Fine – American marine biologist, wreck diver and author
- George R. Fischer – American underwater archaeologist
- Dermot FitzGerald
- Rodney Fox – Australian diver, film maker and conservationist
- Anders Franzén – Swedish marine technician and amateur naval archaeologist
- Ian Edward Fraser – Royal Navy Victoria Cross recipient (1920–2008)
- Ric Frazier – American photographer
- Stephen Frink – Underwater photographer and publisher
- Pierre Frolla – Monegasque free-diver and world record holder
- Honor Frost – Pioneer in underwater archaeology
- Satoshi Furukawa – Japanese surgeon and JAXA astronaut
G
- Émile Gagnan – French engineer and co-inventor of the open circuit demand scuba regulator
- Ronald J. Garan Jr. – American astronaut
- Guy Garman – Scuba diver who died in a depth record attempt
- Gary Gentile – American author and pioneering technical diver
- Michael L. Gernhardt – NASA astronaut and manager of Environmental Physiology Laboratory
- Christopher E. Gerty – American aerospace engineer who worked on NASA's Constellation Program
- David Gibbins – Underwater archaeologist and novelist
- Bret Gilliam – Pioneering technical diver and author (1951–2023)
- Peter Gimbel – American filmmaker and underwater photojournalist (1927–1987)
- Nuno Gomes – South African diver and holder of scuba depth record
- Oscar Gugen – Founder of the British Sub-Aqua Club
- Victor F. Guiel Jr. – Saturation diver killed in the Wildrake diving accident
H
- Chris Hadfield – Canadian astronaut
- Edmond Halley – English astronomer, geophysicist, mathematician, meteorologist, and physicist
- Monty Halls – British TV broadcaster, diver and naturalist
- Bob Halstead – Underwater photographer, author, journalist and commentator on the recreational diving industry.
- Jeremy Hansen – Canadian astronaut (born 1976)
- Richard Harris – Irish actor and singer (1930–2002)
- Guy Harvey – Jamaican marine wildlife artist and conservationist
- Hans Hass – Austrian biologist, film-maker, and underwater diving pioneer
- Mehgan Heaney-Grier – American free-diver, fashion model, actress, conservationist and television personality
- Jill Heinerth – Canadian diver, writer and underwater filmmaker
- José M. Hernández – American engineer and former NASA astronaut
- John Herrington – Retired United States Naval Aviator and former NASA astronaut
- Paul Hill (flight director) – Former Director of Mission Operations at the NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center
- Gene Hobbs – American technical diver and co-founder of the Rubicon Foundation
- Craig M. Hoffman – Diver killed in the Venture One diving accident
- Peter Henry Michael Holmes – Saturation diver killed in the Waage Drill II diving accident
- Akihiko Hoshide – Japanese engineer and JAXA astronaut
- Mark Hulsbeck – American professional aquanaut
- Emma Hwang – Scientist with Wyle Laboratories and aquanaut on NEEMO 5
I
- Steve Irwin – Australian zookeeper, conservationist and television personality (1962–2006)
J
- Jarrod Jablonski – Pioneer American cave diver, author and previous cave diving record holder
- Trevor Jackson (diver) – Australian technical diver and author
- Graham Jessop – British commercial diver and marine archaeologist
- Keith Jessop – British salvage diver and treasure hunter
- Jim Jones (American football, born 1935) – American gridiron football player (1935–1982)
- Kevin Juergensen – Filmmaker, diver, and CEO of Juergensen Marine
K
- Henry Kaiser (musician) – American guitarist, film director, and scientific diver
- Norishige Kanai – Japanese doctor and JAXA astronaut
- Les Kaufman – American evolutionary ecologist specializing in aquatic ecosystems
- Scott Kelly (astronaut) – American engineer and astronaut (born 1964)
- Henry Way Kendall – American particle physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics
- Sydney Knowles – British naval frogman during and after WWII
- Karen Kohanowich – American aquanaut and ex US Navy diver
- Richie Kohler – American technical diver and shipwreck historian
- Timothy Kopra – Engineer, colonel in the United States Army, and astronaut
- Artur Kozłowski (speleologist) – Polish cave diver (1977–2011)
- Elisabeth Kristoffersen – Norwegian freediver and president of AIDA Norway
- Rudie Hermann Kuiter – Dutch-born Australian underwater photographer, taxonomist, and marine biologist
L
- Dominic Landucci – American professional aquanaut and Network Analyst at the NOAA Aquarius Reef Base
- John H. Lang – American soldier and sailor (1899–1970)
- Richard Larn – British shipwreck historian
- Loïc Leferme – French freediving record breaker
- Yves Le Prieur – French naval officer and inventor of a free-flow scuba system
- John Lethbridge – English wool merchant who invented a diving machine in 1715
- Steve Lewis (diver) – Technical scuba diver and author
- Jon Lindbergh – American underwater diver (1932–2021)
- Edwin Clayton Link represented by Johnson Sea Link accident – Manned submersible incident in which two divers died
- Lotte Hass – Pioneering diver and underwater photographer
- Michael López-Alegría – American astronaut (born 1958)
M
- K. Megan McArthur – American oceanographer and NASA astronaut
- Kirsty MacColl – English singer and songwriter (1959–2000)
- Joseph B. MacInnis – Canadian physician, author, poet and aquanaut
- Craig McKinley (physician) – Canadian physician and aquanaut
- Alain Mafart – French military officer convicted for his part in the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior
- Sandra Magnus – American engineer and former NASA astronaut
- William Hogarth Main – Cave diver and scuba configuration experimentalist
- Enzo Maiorca – Italian free diver
- Luis Marden – American photographer, explorer, writer, filmmaker, diver, navigator, and linguist
- Thomas Marshburn – American physician and NASA astronaut
- Robert F. Marx – American author and scuba diver (1936–2019)
- John Mattera – American wreck diver and author
- Jacques Mayol – French free diver (1927–2001)
- Charles T. Meide – American underwater archaeologist
- Jessica Meir – American astronaut and marine biologist
- Simone Melchior – First woman scuba diver and aquanaut (1919–1990)
- Audrey Mestre – French world record-setting freediver
- Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger – American astronaut
- Nicholas Mevoli – American freediver who died while attempting to set a record (1981–2013)
- Karol Meyer – Brazilian free-diver world record holder and professional cyclist for Avai Cycle Team
- Stéphane Mifsud – French free diver and five time world champion in static apnea
- Agnes Milowka – Australian cave diver
- Simon Mitchell – New Zealand physician and author on diving medicine
- Andreas Mogensen – Danish engineer and ESA astronaut
- Alexey Molchanov – Russian world record holder for freediving
- Natalia Molchanova – Russian multiple world record holding freediver (1962–2015)
- Noel Monkman – New Zealand born Australian filmmaker specialising in underwater photography
- Tom Mount – Pioneering technical and cave diver (1939–2022)
- Dave Mullins – New Zealand freediver and world record-holder
- Patrick Musimu – Belgian freediver
N
- Bill Nagle – American wreck diving pioneer
- Guillaume Néry – French freediver
- Mark M. Newell – British/American underwater and terrestrial archaeologist and anthropologist
- Herbert Nitsch – Austrian freediver and world record holder
- Soichi Noguchi – Japanese aeronautical engineer and JAXA astronaut
- Phil Nuytten – Canadian deep-ocean explorer, scientist, and inventor of the Newtsuit
- Karen Nyberg – American mechanical engineer and NASA astronaut
O
- John Peter Oleson – Classical archaeologist and historian of ancient technology
- John D. Olivas – American engineer and a former NASA astronaut
- Takuya Onishi – Japanese engineer, commercial pilot and astronaut from JAXA
P
- Steve Parish – British born Australian photographer and publisher
- Luca Parmitano – Italian engineer, pilot and ESA astronaut
- Zale Parry – American pioneer scuba diver, underwater photographer and actress
- Nicholas Patrick – British-American engineer and former NASA astronaut
- Tim Peake – British Army Air Corps officer and astronaut
- Umberto Pelizzari – Italian freediver
- Pierre Petit – French photographer (1831–1909)
- Joseph Salim Peress – Pioneering British diving engineer
- Thomas Pesquet – French aerospace engineer, pilot, and astronaut
- Annelie Pompe – Swedish freediver and mountaineer
- Gerard Anthony Prangley represented by Star Canopus diving accident – Fatal offshore diving bell accident in 1978
R
- Ocean Ramsey – American freediver and model (born 1987)
- Marc Reagan – American Station Training Lead in Mission Operations at NASA's Johnson Space Center
- Garrett Reisman – American engineer and former NASA astronaut (born 1968)
- Leni Riefenstahl – German film director (1902–2003)
- Michal Risian
- Lesley Rochat – South African underwater photographer, filmmaker and environmental activist
- Benoît Rouquayrol – French inventor of an early diving demand regulator
- Chris and Chrissy Rouse, represented by The Last Dive – Non-fiction book by Bernie Chowdhury about a double wreck diving fatality
- Kathleen Rubins – American microbiologist and NASA astronaut
- Margaret Rule – British archaeologist who led the Mary Rose project
- Dick Rutkowski – American pioneer in hyperbaric and diving medicine and use of mixed breathing gases for diving
- Tara Ruttley – Associate Chief Scientist for Microgravity Research at NASA Headquarters
S
- David Saint-Jacques – Canadian astronaut
- Dee Scarr – Environmentalist, marine naturalist, and scuba diver
- Josef Schmid (flight surgeon) – NASA flight surgeon and Major General in the United States Air Force Reserves
- Gunter Schöbel – German archaeologist and director of the Pfahlbau Museum Unteruhldingen
- Stephanie Schwabe – German geomicrobiologist, diver and underwater researcher
- Peter Scoones – Underwater cameraman
- Willard Franklyn Searle – US Navy ocean engineer and developer of diving and salvage equipment and systems
- Claudia Serpieri – Italian technical diver and depth record holder
- Stig Severinsen – Danish freediver, record holder and author
- Dave Shaw – Australian technical diver and former record holder killed in a diving incident
- Robert Sheats – American Master Diver retired from the United States Navy
- Augustus Siebe – German-born British engineer mostly known for his contributions to diving equipment
- Tom Sietas – German freediver and record holder
- Brian Skerry – American photojournalist
- Wesley C. Skiles – American cave diver and cinematographer
- Pier Skipness represented by Drill Master diving accident – Fatal diving bell accident off Norway in 1974
- Dewey Smith – American aquanaut. Died in diving accident.
- Robert John Smyth represented by Drill Master diving accident – Fatal diving bell accident off Norway in 1974
- Aharon Solomons – Anglo-Israeli former Army officer, holder of the Israeli national record for freediving.
- Charles Spalding – Scottish confectioner and amateur diving bell designer
- E. Lee Spence – Underwater archaeologist
- Krzysztof Starnawski – Polish technical and cave diver
- Steve Squyres – Professor of Physical Sciences at Cornell University
- Rick Stanton – British cave diver who specialises in rescues
- Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper – American Naval officer and former NASA astronaut
- Robert Sténuit – Belgian journalist, writer, underwater archeologist and the first aquanaut.
- Martin Štěpánek – Czech freediver and record-holder
- Hervé Stevenin – European aquanaut at the European Astronaut Centre (born 1962)
- Rob Stewart (filmmaker) – Canadian photographer, filmmaker and conservationist
- Walter Steyn – Australian competitive freediver, freediving judge and freediving instructor
- Bill Stone – American engineer, caver and explorer
- Nicole Stott – American engineer and a NASA astronaut
- Albert D. Stover represented by Johnson Sea Link accident – Manned submersible incident in which two divers died
- Tanya Streeter – British-Caymanian-American freediver
- Esbjörn Svensson – Swedish jazz pianist
T
- Philippe Tailliez – French pioneer of scuba diving and underwater photographer
- Daniel M. Tani – American engineer and NASA astronaut
- James Talacek – American professional aquanaut
- Jason deCaires Taylor – British sculptor and creator of the world's first underwater sculpture park
- Ron Taylor – Australian diver and shark cinematographer
- Valerie Taylor – Australian underwater photographer
- Teseo Tesei – Italian naval officer and pioneering military diver
- Robert Thirsk – Canadian engineer and physician, and former CSA astronaut
- Peter Throckmorton – American photojournalist and a pioneer underwater archaeologist
- Albert Tillman – American educator and underwater diver
- Bill Todd – Project Manager for Exploration Analogs at NASA's Johnson Space Center
- Ivan Tors – Hungarian playwright, film director, screenwriter, and film and television producer
- William Trubridge – New Zealand freediver and record holder
U
- Devrim Cenk Ulusoy – Turkish freediver and world record holder
V
- Mark T. Vande Hei – American engineer and NASA astronaut
- Danai Varveri – Greek freediver and record holder
- Josef Velek – Czech journalist, author and environmentalist
- John Veltri – American filmmaker and underwater photographer
- John Volanthen – British volunteer cave diver who specialises in rescues
W
- Koichi Wakata – Japanese engineer and astronaut (born 1963)
- Rex J. Walheim – United States Air Force officer and NASA astronaut (born 1962)
- Richard A. Walker represented by Wildrake diving accident – Fatal offshore diving accident in Scotland, 1979
- Shannon Walker – American scientist and NASA astronaut
- Lothar Michael Ward represented by Star Canopus diving accident – Fatal offshore diving bell accident in 1978
- Stan Waterman – American cinematographer and underwater film producer (1923–2023)
- Ebenezer Watson – Nephew of Charles Spalding and died in the same accident
- Sir John Wedgwood, 2nd Baronet – British politician and industrialist
- Joachim Wendler – German aquanaut (1939–1975)
- Death of Bradley Westell – Fatal diving accident in the North Sea in 1995
- Michele Westmorland – American underwater photographer
- Douglas H. Wheelock – American engineer and astronaut (born 1960)
- Peggy Whitson – American biochemistry researcher and NASA astronaut
- Andrew Wight – Australian screenwriter and producer (1959–2012)
- Dafydd Williams – Canadian physician, public speaker and retired CSA astronaut
- Jeffrey Williams (astronaut) – Retired United States Army officer and NASA astronaut
- Sunita Williams – American astronaut and United States Navy officer
- John Ernest Williamson – Pioneer underwater photographer
- Gregory R. Wiseman – American astronaut, engineer, and naval aviator (born 1975)
- J. Lamar Worzel – American geophysicist and underwater photographer
Y
- Kimiya Yui – Japanese pilot and astronaut (born 1970)
Z
- Alessia Zecchini – Italian freediver (born 1992)
- Aristotelis Zervoudis – Greek professional diver (born 1964)
- Arne Zetterström – Swedish diver and researcher (1917–1945)