Who was Paul-Henri Nargeolet married to? Net worth, wife, kids, and all about 'Mr Titanic' in the wake of Titan submarine tragedy

French deep-sea explorer and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet was one of the five passengers inside the Titan submersible which imploded after going missing. Paul was 77 years old at the time of death. He was married to Michele Marsh and had two daughters, one son, and a stepson. His wife, Michele was a broadcast journalist who remained active on different television stations between 1979 and 2003.

The Titan submersible with five passengers went on a dive on June 18, 2023, to witness the Titanic wreckage. However, the vessel lost communication with the surface ship in 1 hour and 45 minutes and a search for the submersible started the next day.

Several countries alongside the Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard joined hands to find the vessel. Search and rescue operations were being conducted with the best facilities available. The concern for the passengers increased by Thursday as there were only 96 hours of limited oxygen supply available inside the submersible.

The search and rescue operations continued for around 80 hours and a debris field with the parts of the submersible was found near the Titanic wreckage. The U.S. Navy had previously detected an implosion on their sonar the day the vehicle went for a dive. This hinted at the pressure vessel potentially imploding, leading to the death of the passengers.

The safety of the submersible was questioned by several people in the past, including a former employee David Lochridge who was fired from the company for the same. Discovery Channel host Josh Gates and billionaire investor Jay Bloom were invited for a trip in the Titan but they rejected it due to safety concerns.

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Paul-Henri Nargeolet joined the French Navy at the beginning of his career

Paul-Henri Nargeolet recovered a lot of artefacts of the RMS Titanic (Image via Joel Saget/Getty Images)

Paul-Henri was often called Mr Titanic for his extensive knowledge about the ship's environs and wreckage.

Born on March 2, 1946, Paul-Henri Nargeolet finished his education in Paris. According to the New York Times, he joined the French Navy in 1964 as an officer for mine clearance, diving, and deep underwater intervention. Paul-Henri was a part of the Undersea Intervention Group where he operated intervention submarines and during this course, he located the wreckage of some vehicles.

Paul-Henri Nargeolet operated several dives to the Titanic wreckage in collaboration with IFREMER from 1987 to 1996. He then joined the Michigan State University's Center for Maritime & Underwater Resource Management as the director in 1994 and was employed at Aqua+ between 1996 and 2003.

Paul-Henri Nargeolet was involved in finding the RMS Carpathia in 2007 and it was the same ship that rescued the survivors of the RMS Titanic. He aimed to find the artifacts of the Titanic and used remotely operated vehicles for the wreck site following which he recovered around 6,000 artifacts.

Mr Titanic even searched the flight recorder of Air France Flight 447 and was involved in the creation of two documentaries – Titanic: The Legend Lives On and Deep Inside the Titanic. He later wrote a book titled Dans les profondeurs du Titanic which featured his experience with expeditions.

Paul-Henri Nargeolet's net worth was reported to be $1.5 billion and his work in the Navy for a long time contributed to his earnings over the years. Paul was married to Michele Marsh who passed away from complications of breast cancer in 2017. Paul was a father of two daughters, Chloe and Sidonie, a son named Jules, and a stepson named John Nathaniel Paschall.