American Businessman, Inventor. He is credited with the invention of the wetsuit, and the founder of the O'Neill brand. He grew up in Oregon and southern California, where he began body surfing in the late 1930s. He was a Navy pilot during World War II. He later moved to San Francisco in 1949 and earned a bachelor's degree in liberal arts at San Francisco State University. In 1952, he founded the O'Neill brand while opening one of California's first surf shops in a garage on the Great Highway in San Francisco, close to his favorite bodysurfing break at the time. This led to the establishment of a company that deals in wetsuits, surf gear, and clothing. Jack O'Neill's name is attached to surfwear and his brand of surfing equipment. Although O'Neill is widely believed to be the inventor of the wetsuit, an investigation concluded that UC Berkeley physicist Hugh Bradner was most likely the original inventor. In December 1996 he began a non-profit organization called O'Neill Sea Odyssey which provides students with hands-on lessons in marine biology and that teaches the relationship between the oceans and the environment. It has hosted about 100,000 children since it started.
American Businessman, Inventor. He is credited with the invention of the wetsuit, and the founder of the O'Neill brand. He grew up in Oregon and southern California, where he began body surfing in the late 1930s. He was a Navy pilot during World War II. He later moved to San Francisco in 1949 and earned a bachelor's degree in liberal arts at San Francisco State University. In 1952, he founded the O'Neill brand while opening one of California's first surf shops in a garage on the Great Highway in San Francisco, close to his favorite bodysurfing break at the time. This led to the establishment of a company that deals in wetsuits, surf gear, and clothing. Jack O'Neill's name is attached to surfwear and his brand of surfing equipment. Although O'Neill is widely believed to be the inventor of the wetsuit, an investigation concluded that UC Berkeley physicist Hugh Bradner was most likely the original inventor. In December 1996 he began a non-profit organization called O'Neill Sea Odyssey which provides students with hands-on lessons in marine biology and that teaches the relationship between the oceans and the environment. It has hosted about 100,000 children since it started.
Bio courtesy of: Wikipedia
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