Donna Tobias

Donna M. Tobias (22 May 1952 – 21 September 2010) was an American diver. She was the United States Navy's first female deep sea diver.

Early life Donna M. Tobias was born on 22 May 1952, to parents Elmer and Marie Tobias in Los Angeles, California. Her father was a former World War II bomber crewman and prisoner of war. As she grew up in a poor household, Tobias took a job as a school bus driver and worked at the police department after high school. While working as a shipfitter and hull technician for the Navy, she applied for a waiver to attend dive school. During training, she was required to dive while carrying more than 200 pounds of gear in dark, cold or turbulent water. Despite this, Tobias became the first woman to graduate from the Navy Deep Sea Diving School and went on to work with the Navy search and salvage operations. However, she was still limited opportunities due to her gender. She was unable to join sea duty billets so she accepted a position as an instructor at the Submarine Escape Training Tank at Submarine Naval Base in New London. Retired Master Diver Steven Lechner believed Tobias was the first woman to teach in the escape tank.

Death At the age of 58, Tobias died by suicide due to depression on 21 September 2010.