Though the expedition was a great learning experience for him but it also exposed him to the dangers of his profession when the team lost Ludvig and two other colleagues during the trip. The Danish meteorological expedition was spearheaded by Ludvig Mylius-Erichsen and Alfred studied the climate in the polar region using kites and weather balloons.
This polar researcher embarked on his first expedition to the Arctic in 1906. Using weather balloons the Wegner brothers created history in April 1906 when they made the longest hot air balloon flight of 52.5 hours. Wegner then worked together with his elder brother Kurt Wegner at a meteorological station and the two conducted studies on air movement. by the ‘Friedrich Wilhelms University’ but Alfred’s interest in astronomy waned and he decided to pursue a career in the field of geophysics and meteorology. He prepared his thesis for doctoral degree under the tutelage of astronomer Julius Bauschinger. The bright student then focussed on astronomy and interned at the renowned astronomical laboratory of Urania during 1902-03. Richard taught classical languages in one of the most prestigious educational institute, ‘Evangelisches Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster’, of Germany.Īfter receiving traditional education from the grammar school ‘Köllnisches Gymnasium’, in 1899 he pursued higher education from University of Berlin, Germany and then later in Austria, concentrating on physics, meteorology and astronomy. He was the fifth child of churchman Richard and house-maker Anna Wegener. To know more about his childhood, profile, timeline and career read on Childhood & Early LifeĪlfred Wegner was born, in an affluent German family, in the capital city of Berlin, on November 1, 1880. Henry Cavendish was a theoretical chemist and physicist, renowned for discovery of hydrogen and calculation of the mass of earth. During his fourth expedition to the Greenland he embarked on a highly dangerous mission which ultimately led to his death and he unfortunately did not live long enough to receive the appreciation of scientific world for his commendable works // Famous Scientists He also published the first textbook in meteorology ‘Thermodynamics of the Atmosphere’ and was quite a popular teacher among his students because of his ability to explain complex concepts with relative ease. This inquisitive mind also embarked on many scientific explorations to the Arctic and studied the atmosphere and air current. The two brothers penned history when they charted the longest continuous air balloon flight for study of upper atmosphere.
#WHO WAS ALFRED WEGENER PROFESSIONAL#
Though he pursued professional courses in astronomical sciences he embarked on a career in meteorology with his brother Kurt Wegener. One of the reasons behind rejection of his theories was his background in astronomy. This determined scientist did not let the initial ostracism prove a hindrance and published his theories in his book ‘The Origin of Continents and Oceans’.
His theory on Continental Drift stirred a revolution among the scientific community as it invalidated the findings of past hundreds of years. He thought the force of Earth’s spin was sufficient to cause continents to move, but geologists knew that rocks are too strong for this to be true.Alfred Wegener, who is considered as one of the founding father of a major scientific breakthrough of the 20th century, was a renowned German geophysicist and polar researcher. The main reason that Wegener’s hypothesis was not accepted was because he suggested no mechanism for moving the continents. Why did scientists not believe Alfred Wegener? What was Alfred Wegener’s childhood like? During World War I Wegener worked as a meteorologist. In 1913 he married Else Köppen (the daughter of his mentor Wladimir Köppen), with whom he had three children. He studied in Germany and Austria, receiving his PhD in astronomy.Īlfred Wegener/Spouse Was Alfred Wegener married? Who was Alfred Wegener’s wife? From an early age he took an interest in Greenland, and always walked, skated, and hiked as though training for an expedition. Alfred Wegener completed his PhD in 1905, age 24.Īlfred Wegener was born in Berlin in 1880, where his father was a minister who ran an orphanage. He spent a year at Berlin’s famous Urania Observatory, whose purpose was (and still is) to bring astronomy to the public. In 1902, he began a PhD degree in astronomy. He specialized in astronomy, meteorology, and physics.