![]() And who knows how things will turn out tomorrow. We certainly won’t make it out of here today. In his Greenland diaries the theory of continental drift is only mentioned once in a rather ironic self-reflection about the difficult circumstances of polar exploration: Only later, in the context of the systematic exploration of the seafloor in the 1950s, did observations of the phenomenon of seafloor spreading prove his insights. However, during his lifetime Wegener did not receive recognition for his ideas. In 1915 these ideas were then published as a book, Über den Ursprung der Kontinente und Ozeane (On the Origins of the Continents and Oceans), which was revised several times. This talk then was published as an article in the renowned journal Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen. On 6 January 1912, Wegener gave a courageous presentation at the annual meeting of the geological society ( Geologische Vereinigung) at the Senckenberg Museum in Frankfurt. Brief von Alfred Wegener an seinen Schwiegervater Wladimir Köppen, Marburg,, DMA, HS 1968-596, 17. Wenn ich auch nur durch die übereinstimmenden Küstenlinien darauf gekommen bin, so muß die Beweisführung natürlich von dem Beobachtungsmaterial der Geologie ausgehen. Ich glaube doch, Du hältst meinen Urkontinent für phantastischer als er ist und siehst noch nicht, daß es sich lediglich um Deutung des Beobachtungsmaterials handelt. Lieber Vater, auf Deinen ausführlichen Brief muß ich Dir gleich antworten. Letter of Alfred Wegener to his father-in-law, Wladimir Köppen, Marburg, 6 December 1911, DMA, HS 1968-596, 17. Even if I only arrived at the idea due to the correspondence between the coastlines, the documentation will naturally have to be based on material from geological observation. I do believe that you consider my ancient continent to be far more fantastic than it really is and you do not yet see that it’s merely a matter of interpreting the observation material. Dear Father, I must answer your lengthy letter straightaway. A letter from Wegener to Köppen, preserved at the Deutsches Museum, documents his ideas: Also in this case it was an intuitive insight and immediate observation that made him think about the origins of continental movements. In 1911 Wegener formulated his ideas about the origins of oceans and continents for the first time. They discussed Wegener’s ideas intensively. His close relationship with the climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940), whom he met at the kite station in Hamburg Großborstel in 1906 and would become his father-in-law, was very important for his further life and career. Wegener’s publications in the field of geophysics are remarkable because they are often based on intuitive insights and careful observations and encompass very different fields-the origins of continents and oceans, paleoclimatology, aerology, meteorology and atmospheric sciences, origins of craters on the moon, aurora and wind phenomena in the polar regions, or the origins of tornados and turbulence phenomena, and similar matters. The experiences with kites and balloons as a meteorologist in the new field of aerology at Lindenberg gave him the unexpected opportunity to participate in the Danish Danmark Expedition to Greenland from 1906–1908. ![]() Together they set a world record for the longest time spent aloft in a balloon, remaining in the air for 52 hours from 5 to 7 April 1906. Together they participated in ballooning and conducted meteorological observations in the new discipline of aerology. After the completion of his PhD in astronomy, he went together with his brother Kurt to the aeronautical observatory, the “Königlich Preußisches Aeronautische Observatorium Lindenberg” close to Berlin. Alfred, like his brother, enjoyed hiking, mountain climbing, and sailing. Wegener studied mathematics and astronomy in Berlin and Heidelberg, but soon was drawn to geophysics and meteorology. While his father was a theologian and classics teacher, Alfred and his older brother Kurt (1878–1964) were more inclined towards the natural sciences. In addition, geophysics, meteorology, and glaciology were changing into modern, globally oriented disciplines. At that time Max Planck and Albert Einstein were calling the fundamentals of modern physics into question. Born in Berlin, he grew up in the German Empire at a time that saw the advent of new technologies such as the airship, electricity and the automobile. Wegener lived in a period of tremendous political and scientific upheaval and transformation. ![]() The copyright holder reserves, or holds for their own use, all the rights provided by copyright law, such as distribution, performance, and creation of derivative works. ![]()
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