By: Shirley Garrett

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Alfred Wegener

• By Shirley Garrett

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Personal Background

• Date of Birth- November 1st, 1880
• Death- November 2nd, 1930?
• Earned a Ph.D in astronomy from the University of
  Berlin in 1904
• Interested in geophysics, and also became
  fascinated with the developing fields of
  meteorology and climatology

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Contributions to Society

• Pioneered the use of balloons to track air
  circulation
• Wrote a textbook that became standard throughout
  Germany
• In 1915 the first edition of The Origin of
  Continents and Oceans, a book outlining Wegener's
  continental drift theory, was published expanded
  editions were published in 1920, 1922, and 1929.

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What Most People Dont Know

• When his theory was first proposed, it was
  ridiculed.
• Wegener was not the first to suggest that the
  continents had once been connected, but he was
  the first to present extensive evidence from
  several fields.
• Many scientists reacted hostile and often spoke
  exceptionally harsh about the Wegeners theory.

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Why I chose this person

• I chose this person, because my students will be
  learning about his theory on continental drift in
  my sixth grade science class.

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Resources

• http//www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/wegener.html
  
• http//www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaur
  s/glossary/Pangaea.shtml