Life jacket, life preserver, life vest, personal flotation device (PFD)—no matter what you call it—the life jacket has a long and varied history. According to Christopher Brooks, in Designed for Life: Life Jackets through the Ages, the earliest example of a life jacket or floatation device can be found on marble carvings from 870 B.C., depicting Assyrian soldiers swimming while holding onto inflated animal hides.