Alfred Wegener (1880-1930) was known for his Arctic explorations, and his researches into geophysics and meteorology. He developed an interest in the early history of the Earth’s continents, suggesting that at one time they formed a supercontinent (Pangaea). His idea of “continental displacement” - later known as continental drift - attempted to explain the movement of continents away and towards each other. The first published version of this theory appeared as Die Enstehung der Kontinente und Ozeane in 1915, following which Wegener published various papers on the subject, resulting in the third, fully revised edition of the book in 1922. This third edition was the text used for the first English translation, offered here. Wegener’s ideas were ignored or met with scepticism, but the development of palaeomagnetism in the 1950s resulted in sufficient evidence for the ideas to be accepted, and with the advent of GPS continental drift was measured directly.