Benoît Rouquayrol (1826–1875) was a French inventor. Along with Auguste Denayrouze, Rouquayrol invented a diving suit and breathing apparatus.
Benoît Rouquayrol was born on June 13, 1826, at Espalion, in the Aveyron department of Southern France. He became an engineer at the Saint-Étienne School of Mines. He became employed at a company involved in bituminous coal mining and foundries in Aveyron, and became the director of accounting by 1865.
In 1860, Rouquayrol became concerned with mine safety problems related to firedamp (flammable natural gases in coal mines). He created a rescue apparatus consisting of a pressurized gas chamber coupled to a pressure regulator that he called the "Regulator for Equalization of Compressed Gas". In 1864, with the help of the French Navy lieutenant Auguste Denayrouze (also of Aveyron), Rouquayrol created the first diving suit. This diving suit won the gold medal at the 1867 World's Fair, and drew the attention of the author Jules Verne. Verne included the diving suit in his 1869-70 fictional depiction of a contemporary submarine voyage, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas.
Rouquayrol died on November 14, 1875, at Rodez, Aveyron, France.
Additionally, Rouquayrol contributed to related inventions in co-operation with Auguste Denayrouze and others.