Wegener, Alfred (Lothar)

Wegener, Alfred (Lothar)
born Nov. 1, 1880, Berlin, Ger.
died Nov. 1930, Greenland

German meteorologist and geophysicist.

After earning a Ph.D. in astronomy (1905), he became interested in paleoclimatology and traveled to Greenland to research polar air circulation. He formulated the first complete statement of the continental drift hypothesis, which he presented in The Origin of Continents and Oceans (1915). His theory won some adherents, but by 1930 most geologists had rejected it because of the implausibility of his postulations for the driving force behind the continents' movement. It was resurrected in the 1960s as part of the theory of plate tectonics. Wegener died during his fourth expedition to Greenland.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Wegener,Alfred Lothar — We·ge·ner (vāʹgə nər), Alfred Lothar. 1880 1930. German geophysicist, meteorologist, and explorer who proposed the theory of continental drift. * * * …   Universalium

  • Wegener, Alfred Lothar — ▪ German scientist born Nov. 1, 1880, Berlin, Ger. died November 1930, Greenland       German meteorologist and geophysicist who formulated the first complete statement of the continental drift hypothesis.       The son of an orphanage director,… …   Universalium

  • Wegener , Alfred Lothar — (1880–1930) German meteorologist and geologist Wegener, who was born in Berlin, was educated at the universities of Heidelberg, Innsbruck, and Berlin, where he obtained his doctorate in astronomy in 1905. In 1906 he went on his first… …   Scientists

  • Wegener, Alfred (Lothar) — (1 nov. 1880, Berlín, Alemania–nov. 1930, Groenlandia). Meteorólogo y geofísico alemán. Después de obtener un Ph.D. en astronomía (1905), se interesó en la paleoclimatología y viajó a Groenlandia para investigar la circulación de los vientos… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Wegener, Alfred Lothar — ► (1880 1930) Geofísico y meteorólogo alemán. En 1912 esbozó la teoría de la deriva continental, según la cual las masas continentales, originadas de la fragmentación de un gran y primitivo continente, se desplazan sobre el sima …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Alfred Lothar Wegener — Alfred Wegener, etwa 1925 Alfred Lothar Wegener (* 1. November 1880 in Berlin; † November 1930 in Grönland) war ein deutscher Meteorologe, Polar und Geowissenschaftler. Als sein wichtigster Beitrag zur Wissenschaft gilt seine erst postum… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Alfred Lothar Wegener — noun German geophysicist who proposed the theory of continental drift (1880 1930) • Syn: ↑Wegener • Instance Hypernyms: ↑geophysicist …   Useful english dictionary

  • Wegener — Alfred Lothar …   Scientists

  • Wegener — Wegener, Alfred Lothar …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Alfred Wegener — Infobox Scientist name = Alfred Wegener box width = image size =180px caption = Alfred Wegener, around 1925 birth date = November 1, 1880 birth place = Berlin death date = November 2, 1930 death place = Greenland residence = citizenship =… …   Wikipedia

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