John Chatterton
Encyclopedia
John Chatterton is one of the world’s most accomplished and well known wreck divers
. Together with Richie Kohler
, he was one of the co-hosts for the History Channel’s Deep Sea Detectives
where they have completed work on 57 episodes of this successful series. He is also a consultant to the film and television industries and has worked with 20th Century Fox
, Paramount Pictures
, and CBS
. Prior to his career in television, Chatterton spent twenty years working as a commercial diver in and around New York City
, and was actually working in the water underneath the World Financial Center
, across the street from the Tower #1, on the day of the September 11 attacks. His first co-host and diving partner from Deep Sea Detectives, Michael Norwood, died in a diving accident during an expedition to Palau
in December 2003.
, has been the subject of several television documentaries including Hitler’s Lost Sub, a two hour special for the popular NOVA
series on PBS. This same story is now the subject of a New York Times best selling book
by Robert Kurson
, called Shadow Divers
. It is currently published in 21 languages. The movie rights to the international bestseller have been purchased by 20th Century Fox
.
Chatterton was a member of the first technical diving
expedition to Ireland
and the legendary RMS Lusitania
, in 1994. A few years later, at a depth of 400 feet (121.9 m), he was the first diver to use rebreather diving technology on the wreck of HMHS Britannic
, near the island of Kea
in Greece
. He was also the sole American on a British expedition, sponsored by the U.S. Holocaust Museum, looking for the historic shipwreck Struma in the Black Sea
near Istanbul
. These dives in Turkey
were chronicled on the HBO documentary Struma. In addition, Chatterton has managed to make over 160 dives to the well known wreck of the SS Andrea Doria
, sometimes referred to as the "Mount Everest
" of recreational Scuba diving.
In August 2005, Chatterton and his partners put together an expedition to the most famous shipwreck in the world, RMS Titanic. They dove the wreck to a depth of approximately 12500 feet (3,810 m) in the MIR
submersible from the Russian Research Ship Keldysh. Their exploration was featured on the History Channel special, Titanic’s Final Moments – Missing Pieces. This award-winning project was a first for Chatterton and his long time dive partner Richie Kohler
in that they worked both in front of, and behind the camera. They produced the program with their close friend, Emmy Award
winner Kirk Wolfinger. More specials are in the works.
as a combat medic
in the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment of the Americal Division
.
squamous cell carcinoma
of the tonsil
, which was thought to be likely a result of his exposure to Agent Orange
in Vietnam. By May 2003, the cancer was in remission.
John is a member of the board of directors
for Nanologix Inc., a biotech firm located in Hubbard, Ohio.
Wreck diving
Wreck diving is a type of recreational diving where shipwrecks are explored. Although most wreck dive sites are at shipwrecks, there is an increasing trend to scuttle retired ships to create artificial reef sites...
. Together with Richie Kohler
Richie kohler
Richie Kohler is an experienced technical wreck diver and shipwreck historian who has been diving and exploring shipwrecks since 1980. Together with John Chatterton, Kohler was one of the co-hosts of the television series Deep Sea Detectives on the History Channel and is also a consultant for the...
, he was one of the co-hosts for the History Channel’s Deep Sea Detectives
Deep Sea Detectives
Deep Sea Detectives is a television show on The History Channel. The show began airing in 2003.In a post dated September 1, 2006 on the Deep Sea Detectives message board, series producer Kirk Wolfinger stated that the show would not be renewed for another season.- External links :* *...
where they have completed work on 57 episodes of this successful series. He is also a consultant to the film and television industries and has worked with 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
, Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, and CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. Prior to his career in television, Chatterton spent twenty years working as a commercial diver in and around New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and was actually working in the water underneath the World Financial Center
World Financial Center
The World Financial Center is a complex of buildings across West Street from the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan in New York City, overlooking the Hudson River. This complex is home to offices of companies including Merrill Lynch, RBC Capital Markets, Nomura Group, the Wall Street...
, across the street from the Tower #1, on the day of the September 11 attacks. His first co-host and diving partner from Deep Sea Detectives, Michael Norwood, died in a diving accident during an expedition to Palau
Palau
Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a...
in December 2003.
Career
His passion has always been researching and diving the deep shipwrecks of the world. In 1991, the discovery and subsequent identification of the German submarine U-869, off the coast of New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, has been the subject of several television documentaries including Hitler’s Lost Sub, a two hour special for the popular NOVA
NOVA (TV series)
Nova is a popular science television series from the U.S. produced by WGBH Boston. It can be seen on the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States, and in more than 100 other countries...
series on PBS. This same story is now the subject of a New York Times best selling book
New York Times Best Seller list
The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. It is published weekly in The New York Times Book Review magazine, which is published in the Sunday edition of The New York Times and as a stand-alone publication...
by Robert Kurson
Robert Kurson
Robert Kurson is an American author, best known for his 2004 bestselling book, Shadow Divers, the true story of two Americans who discover a World War II German U-boat sunk 60 miles off the coast of New Jersey....
, called Shadow Divers
Shadow Divers
Shadow Divers is a non-fictional recounting of the discovery of a World War II German U-Boat sixty miles off the coast of New Jersey, USA in 1991.-Overview:...
. It is currently published in 21 languages. The movie rights to the international bestseller have been purchased by 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
.
Chatterton was a member of the first technical diving
Technical diving
Technical diving is a form of scuba diving that exceeds the scope of recreational diving...
expedition to Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and the legendary RMS Lusitania
RMS Lusitania
RMS Lusitania was a British ocean liner designed by Leonard Peskett and built by John Brown and Company of Clydebank, Scotland. The ship entered passenger service with the Cunard Line on 26 August 1907 and continued on the line's heavily-traveled passenger service between Liverpool, England and New...
, in 1994. A few years later, at a depth of 400 feet (121.9 m), he was the first diver to use rebreather diving technology on the wreck of HMHS Britannic
HMHS Britannic
HMHS Britannic was the third and largest of the White Star Line. She was the sister ship of and , and was intended to enter service as a transatlantic passenger liner. She was launched just before the start of the First World War and was laid up at her builders in Belfast for many months before...
, near the island of Kea
Kea (island)
Kea , also known as Gia or Tzia , Zea, and, in Antiquity, Keos , is an island of the Cyclades archipelago, in the Aegean Sea, in Greece. Kea is part of the Kea-Kythnos peripheral unit. Its capital, Ioulis, is inland at a high altitude and is considered quite picturesque...
in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. He was also the sole American on a British expedition, sponsored by the U.S. Holocaust Museum, looking for the historic shipwreck Struma in the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
near Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
. These dives in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
were chronicled on the HBO documentary Struma. In addition, Chatterton has managed to make over 160 dives to the well known wreck of the SS Andrea Doria
SS Andrea Doria
SS Andrea Doria[p] was an ocean liner for the Italian Line home ported in Genoa, Italy, most famous for its sinking in 1956, when 46 people died. Named after the 16th-century Genoese admiral Andrea Doria, the ship had a gross register tonnage of 29,100 and a capacity of about 1,200 passengers and...
, sometimes referred to as the "Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
" of recreational Scuba diving.
In August 2005, Chatterton and his partners put together an expedition to the most famous shipwreck in the world, RMS Titanic. They dove the wreck to a depth of approximately 12500 feet (3,810 m) in the MIR
MIR (submersible)
Mir is a self-propelled Deep Submergence Vehicle. The project was initially developed by the USSR Academy of Sciences along with Design Bureau Lazurith. Later two vehicles were ordered from Finland...
submersible from the Russian Research Ship Keldysh. Their exploration was featured on the History Channel special, Titanic’s Final Moments – Missing Pieces. This award-winning project was a first for Chatterton and his long time dive partner Richie Kohler
Richie kohler
Richie Kohler is an experienced technical wreck diver and shipwreck historian who has been diving and exploring shipwrecks since 1980. Together with John Chatterton, Kohler was one of the co-hosts of the television series Deep Sea Detectives on the History Channel and is also a consultant for the...
in that they worked both in front of, and behind the camera. They produced the program with their close friend, Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
winner Kirk Wolfinger. More specials are in the works.
Military service
In 1970-71 John Chatterton served one twelve month tour of duty in the Vietnam WarVietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
as a combat medic
Combat medic
Combat medics are trained military personnel who are responsible for providing first aid and frontline trauma care on the battlefield. They are also responsible for providing continuing medical care in the absence of a readily available physician, including care for disease and battle injury...
in the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment of the Americal Division
Americal Division
The 23rd Infantry Division, more commonly known as the Americal Division of the United States Army was formed in May 1942 on the island of New Caledonia. In the immediate emergency following Pearl Harbor, the United States had hurriedly sent three individual regiments to defend New Caledonia...
.
Other
In November 2000 John Chatterton was diagnosed with metastasizedMetastasis
Metastasis, or metastatic disease , is the spread of a disease from one organ or part to another non-adjacent organ or part. It was previously thought that only malignant tumor cells and infections have the capacity to metastasize; however, this is being reconsidered due to new research...
squamous cell carcinoma
Squamous cell carcinoma
Squamous cell carcinoma , occasionally rendered as "squamous-cell carcinoma", is a histologically distinct form of cancer. It arises from the uncontrolled multiplication of malignant cells deriving from epithelium, or showing particular cytological or tissue architectural characteristics of...
of the tonsil
Tonsil
Palatine tonsils, occasionally called the faucial tonsils, are the tonsils that can be seen on the left and right sides at the back of the throat....
, which was thought to be likely a result of his exposure to Agent Orange
Agent Orange
Agent Orange is the code name for one of the herbicides and defoliants used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. Vietnam estimates 400,000 people were killed or maimed, and 500,000 children born with birth...
in Vietnam. By May 2003, the cancer was in remission.
John is a member of the board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
for Nanologix Inc., a biotech firm located in Hubbard, Ohio.
External links
- http://www.johnchatterton.com/
- Interview - deepimage.co.uk
- Starfish Enterprises - 1994 Lusitania expedition
- http://nanologix.com/team.html - showing Chatterton as a Director for Nanologix.com