Alfred Wegener (1880–1930) was a German meteorologist, geophysicist, and polar researcher best known for formulating the first complete statement of the continental drift hypothesis. He proposed in 1912 that the continents were once joined in a single supercontinent called Pangea and have since slowly drifted apart to their current positions. This idea laid the foundation for the modern theory of plate tectonics, although it was not widely accepted until decades after his death
. Wegener was born in Berlin and earned a PhD in astronomy in 1904 but shifted his focus to meteorology and climatology. He made significant contributions to meteorology, including pioneering the use of weather balloons to track air circulation. He participated in several expeditions to Greenland to study polar air circulation and glaciology
. His major work, The Origin of Continents and Oceans (1915), detailed his theory of continental drift, proposing that continents moved over geological time. Despite initial skepticism from the scientific community, his hypothesis gained support in the 1950s with new evidence such as paleomagnetism
. Wegener died in Greenland in 1930 during an expedition, but his legacy endures as the father of the theory that revolutionized geology and earth sciences
