Otis Barton
Frederick Otis Barton Jr. (June 5, 1899 – April 15, 1992) was an American deep-sea diver, inventor and actor.
Also recorded as Otis Barton II · Otis Barton, Jr. · Frederick Otis Barton, Jr. · Frederick Otis Barton
Otis Barton

Daderot · Public domain
- Name
- Otis Barton
- Birth Name
- Frederick Otis Barton Jr.
- Born
- 5 June 1899
- Birthplace
- New York, U.S.
- Died
- 15 April 1992
- Occupation
- Deep-sea diver, inventor, actor
- Education
- Harvard College
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
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Frederick Otis Barton Jr. (June 5, 1899 – April 15, 1992) was an American deep-sea diver, inventor and actor.
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wikidata · Q540947 · wikipedia · Otis Barton
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Otis Barton • Birth Name — Frederick Otis Barton Jr. • Born — 5 June 1899 • Birthplace — New York, U.S. • Died — 15 April 1992 • Occupation — Deep-sea diver, inventor, actor • Education — Harvard College
Early life and career
Early life and career
Born in New York, the independently wealthy Barton designed the first bathysphere and made a dive with William Beebe off Bermuda in June 1930. They set the first record for deep-sea diving by descending 600 ft. In 1934, they set another record at 3028 ft. Barton acted in the 1938 Hollywood movie, Titans of the Deep.
Later career
Later career
In 1949, Barton set a new world record with a 4,500 foot (1,372 m) dive in the Pacific Ocean, using his benthoscope (from the Greek benthos, meaning 'sea bottom', and scopein, 'to view'), which was designed by Barton and Maurice Nelles. Barton wrote the book The World Beneath the Sea, published in 1953. Like Beebe, Barton was also interested in exploring tropical rain forests, and spent considerable time in places like Gabon. In 1978, Barton successfully tested a "jungle spaceship" (actually an airship) that was intended to film wildlife.
Taxon described by him
Taxon described by him
• See:Category:Taxa named by Frederick Otis Barton Jr.
Identity and origins
Identity and origins
His recorded language was English.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1899
Otis Barton born at New York City.
1992
Otis Barton died at New York City.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Bathysphere and Its Pioneers of the Deep - Clara Bush.
- 2.Deep Dip. Time. 1949-08-29.
- 3.Harvard University Obituary and Death Notice Collection - 104. 2011-01-18.
- 4.DENDRONAUTICS - Canopy access.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 4
- Matsen, Bradford. Descent - The Heroic Discovery of the Abyss, Pantheon Books, 2005.
- Matsen, Bradford. The Incredible Record-Setting Deep-Sea Dive of the Bathysphere. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, 2003.
- Otis Barton, "Adventure on land and under the sea", Longmans, London, 1954.
- Biography of Otis Barton on the website of the MIT School of Engineering
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
Otis Barton is recorded as inventor, actor, film producer, cinematographer and film director.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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