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Legends of Diving Articles |
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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.
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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.
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Started the Erickson
Underwater Swimming School in 1959.
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Erickson became NAUI
Instructor number 35 in 1961 at the first NAUI Instructor Training Course in
Houston, TX.
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He wrote his own scuba
instruction book, Under Pressure, which he used for his classes.
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Met John Cronin later in
1961 and formed a new diver training organization, the Professional
Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), with Erickson as president.
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Described by Dr. Sam Miller
as the "Old Bear" and was certainly one of a kind, he will be
missed.
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With Cronin moved the PADI
organization to California in 1971.
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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.
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John Cronin, co-founder of
PADI, died July 15, 2003 at his home in Temecula, CA.
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In 2004, Erickson received
the Our World Underwater Achievement Award for his contributions to diving.
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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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