Alfred Wegener's Theory of Continental Drift

Alfred Wegener proposed the theory of continental drift in 1912, suggesting that the continents were once connected but have since moved apart. The theory faced criticism, but Wegener had supporters who acknowledged the evidence from various fields, including geology, paleontology, and geophysics. He hypothesized that the continents floated on less dense ocean floors, explaining how mountains formed through resistance as they moved through the sea floor. Wegener's work was interrupted by World War I, but he continued researching and publishing in fields such as meteorology and polar exploration. He died tragically during an expedition to Greenland in 1931, and his theories gained more recognition in the 1950s and 60s with the discoveries of magnetic stripes on the ocean floor and the study of plate tectonics.