Peter Kreeft

Peter Kreeft (born 1739 in Wieck auf dem Darß died 20 January 1811 in Barth) also spelled Kraeft or Kreft, was a German sea captain, shipping correspondent, ship owner and merchant in Barth, Swedish Pomerania, who invented an early version of a surface-supplied diving suit with helmet.

Life and work

The invention of the surface supplied helmet diving suit was a major development in underwater diving. A document from 1805 found by the diving historian Michael Jung in 1996 shows that the shipowner and captain Peter Kreeft had significant influence on the development of the diving helmet with his invention of a Tauchermaschine [diving machine] in 1800.