Albert Alvin Tillman was an American educator and underwater diver.
12 Facts About Albert Tillman
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Albert Tillman became interested in marine and underwater life when, at age 10, he peered through a pair of goggles in the waters off Redondo Beach, California.
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Albert Tillman soon became a free diver and served in the United States Coast Guard at the end of World War II, where he had the opportunity to dive around the world.
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Albert Tillman attended the University of Southern California on a football scholarship and earned a bachelor's degree in public administration in 1950.
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Albert Tillman later earned additional degrees in Recreation Management, including a master of arts from Los Angeles State College in 1956.
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Albert Tillman became a professor at California State College in Los Angeles in 1956, and created the first university degree program in recreation and leisure studies, retiring in 1994.
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Albert Tillman co-founded the Underwater Photographic Society with Zale Parry.
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Albert Tillman opened the world's first dedicated dive resort, The Underwater Explorers Society in Freeport, Grand Bahama Island.
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Albert Tillman co-founded the National Association of Underwater Instructors, the first international SCUBA diving certification agency, with Neal Hess in 1960.
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Albert Tillman worked all over the world to make dive training safer and more widespread, and planned to co-author four books on the history of diving titled Scuba America with Zale Parry, although only one of the four volumes was completed before his death.
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Albert Tillman received many lifetime achievement awards and honors during the 1990s and early 2000s.
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Albert Tillman died on his 76th birthday, in 2004, of a cerebral hemorrhage.