In 1970, Sylvia Earle led five women into an underwater lab for 14 days

The sea can feel distant even to people who live hundreds of miles from a coastline. It sits beyond the horizon, beneath ships and far below the surface, largely hidden from ordinary view. Sylvia Earle spent much of her life trying to make that hidden world less remote. Born in New Jersey in 1935, she grew from a child fascinated by wild plants and animals into a marine biologist, deep-sea explorer, inventor and conservationist. Her career unfolded alongside major changes in underwater technology, allowing her to spend thousands of hours beneath the surface. She lived in an underwater habitat, explored the deep sea in submersibles and became the first woman to serve as chief scientist of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.Sylvia Earle’s childhood love of nature led her to marine scienceSylvia Earle was born on August 30, 1935, in Gibbstown, New Jersey. Her early surroundings were not especially exotic. Her family lived on a small farm near Camden, where she spent time outside exploring woods and paying attention to the plants and animals around her.Her parents had not attended university, but they shared an interest in nature. They encouraged their daughter to t...