Alfred Wegener (1 November 1880 – early November 1930) was a German meteorologist and geophysicist who is best known for his theory of continental drift.
Wegener's most famous work is The Origin of Continents and Oceans (1912), in which he proposed that the continents had once been joined together in a single landmass, which he called Pangea. He argued that Pangea had begun to break up around 200 million years ago and that the continents had since been drifting apart.
Wegener's theory was initially met with skepticism by many scientists, but it has since been widely accepted. Continental drift is now considered to be one of the key concepts in geology.
In addition to his work on continental drift, Wegener also made significant contributions to the fields of meteorology and geophysics. He was one of the first scientists to study the upper atmosphere, and he developed a number of important theories about the weather and climate.
Wegener died in 1930 during an expedition to Greenland. He was 50 years old.