1880-1930

German Meteorologist and Geophysicist

Alfred Lothar Wegener was a meteorologist and geophysicist best known for his theory of continental drift, according to which Earth's continents once formed a single landmass and over time drifted to their present positions. Largely rejected during his lifetime, Wegener's idea of continental motion is now universally accepted, although the details of his work have been superseded by plate tectonics.

Wegener was born in Berlin, Germany, on November 1, 1880, to Richard and Anna Schwarz Wegener. He attended the universities at Heidelberg and Innsbruck and received his doctorate in astronomy from Berlin in 1905. In 1906 he accompanied a Danish expedition to Greenland as their meteorologist. Upon returning Wegener lectured in meteorology at the Physical Institute in Marburg (1908-12). Wegener helped lead a second expedition to Greenland in 1912-13 to study glaciology and climatology. In 1924 a special chair of meteorology and geophysics was...