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Bret Gilliam | |
|---|---|
 Gilliam in 1996 | |
| Born | Bret Clifton Gilliam February 3, 1951 Annapolis, Maryland, U.S. |
| Died | October 8, 2023 (aged 72) |
| Occupation(s) | Author, businessman, expert witness, explorer |
Bret Clifton Gilliam (February 3, 1951 – October 8, 2023) was an American pioneering technical diver. He was most famous as co-founder of the certification agency Technical Diving International along with Mitch Skaggs, and as the one time holder of the world record for deep diving on air.[1] He is also one of diving's most popular writers. Gilliam is the author or coauthor of 72 books, over 1500 feature magazine articles, and over 100 magazine cover photos. In his diving career he has logged over 19,000 dives[citation needed] since 1959.
Gilliam was a multimillionaire from the sale of several businesses that included Technical Diving International (TDI), V. I. Divers Ltd., AMF Yacht Charters, Ocean Quest Cruise Lines, G2 Publishing (Fathoms Magazine), Sea Ventures Ltd., and Uwatec. Several of his companies grew into multi-national conglomerates and two were taken public in major sales while others were sold to private investment groups. The aggregate value of his companies when he sold them was over $80 million.[citation needed]
Gilliam formed the consulting service Ocean Tech in 1971 and provided expert witness testimony for diving and maritime related legal cases. Since 1973, he has appeared in over 400[citation needed] legal cases nearly exactly evenly divided between defense and plaintiff litigation. (A case in which he appeared as the maritime and diving expert witness for the plaintiffs resulted in a $12 million settlement in May 2015.[2]) Gilliam has also testified in criminal trials and been Congressionally appointed to military court martial proceedings for the U.S. Marine Corps. Special Consultant in various capacities for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).[citation needed]