Ralph Erickson
Co-Founder of PADI

June 25, 1922 to May 25, 2006
Birthplace: South Dakota

PADI co-founder and pioneer diving instructor Ralph Erickson, passed away on May 25, 2006 at the age of 88.

• Awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star medals as a member of the 82nd Airborne following the largest air assault operation in history during WWII.

• Started the Erickson Underwater Swimming School in 1959.

• Erickson became NAUI Instructor number 35 in 1961 at the first NAUI Instructor Training Course in Houston, TX.

• He wrote his own scuba instruction book, Under Pressure, which he used for his classes.

• Met John Cronin later in 1961 and formed a new diver training organization, the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), with Erickson as president.

• Described by Dr. Sam Miller as the "Old Bear" and was certainly one of a kind, he will be missed.

• With Cronin moved the PADI organization to California in 1971.

• In 1992 was honored with the Diving Equipment and Marketing Association (DEMA) Reaching Out Award for Education and he was inducted into the DEMA Hall of Fame.

• John Cronin, co-founder of PADI, died July 15, 2003 at his home in Temecula, CA.

• In 2004, Erickson received the Our World Underwater Achievement Award for his contributions to diving.

• Erickson was elected to the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame with induction to be in 2007.

Ralph Erickson will be remembered for his dedication to education and is a legend in the history of SCUBA diving.

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