Which scientist first proposed continental drift in a detailed 1915 book?

Alfred Wegener first proposed continental drift in a detailed 1915 book.

Wegener, a German meteorologist and polar researcher, presented the idea that continents had once formed a single supercontinent and later moved apart. His book, The Origin of Continents and Oceans, developed the theory and named the ancient supercontinent Pangaea. He used the matching shapes of continental margins, similar fossils on widely separated continents, and related rock formations as evidence.

The theory was controversial during Wegener’s lifetime because he could not identify a convincing mechanism capable of moving continents through the oceanic crust. Many geologists rejected it for that reason, even though several lines of evidence were persuasive.

The modern theory of plate tectonics later supplied the mechanism. Evidence from seafloor spreading, magnetic stripes on oceanic crust, and earthquake patterns showed that rigid plates move over Earth’s mantle. Wegener therefore anticipated a central idea of modern geology, although his original explanation was incomplete.