In 1934, after a series of earlier dives since Jun 1930, each progressively deeper, American zoologist William Beebe and Otis Barton made their pioneering, record-breaking ocean descent of 3,028 feet in a bathysphere designed by Barton. In that instance, the bathysphere withstood over 1,360 pounds of pressure. Beebe began exploring the undersea world with his homemade diving helmet on 9 Apr 1925. William Beebe dreamed of exploring the deeper locations where he and his air hose tether could not reach. Barton read of Beebe's plans in the 1926 Thanksgiving Day edition of the New York Times. Barton had already decided to design a deep sea vessel, had an engineering background, and a substantial inheritance. The two joined forces on 28 Dec 1928.