Alfred Wegener

Alfred Wegener (1880-1930) was a German physicist, meteorologist and explorer who developed one of the first theories of plate tectonics.

Wegener completed his PhD in planetary astronomy in 1905 but became strongly interested in meteorology. His theories on continental drift were published in 1915 in The Origin of Continents and Oceans. This provided a rational account of his theory however was never accepted by other meterologists in his lifetime.

Evidence to support Wegener's theory did not occur until 1960, when Harry Hess proposed the theory of sea-floor spreading. The exploration techniques that had developed by this stage would confirm Wegener's theory as well.