In 1934, American scientists William Beebe and Otis Barton ventured to a depth where no one had gone before, 3,028 feet (923 m) beneath the oceanˇs surface. This achievement, which took place off the coast of Bermuda, was made possible by an invention of their own construction: the bathysphere. This small steel bubble was attached to a boat by a cable.With their submersible.device, the two men became the first humans to observe the animals of the deep in their natural surroundings.