WGCG Spring 2021 Newsletter - Flipbook - Page 15
WGCG
Spring 2021 Newsletter
Victoria Mier, for that is the lady's name, was very excited to see this outline of his ideas. The connection
with Alfred Wegener is on her grandmother's side. It was her father who told them that they were related.
Her father's family came to the UK in 1929 as followers of Rudolf Steiner and anthroposophy - her
grandfather was involved in the movement for biodynamic agriculture. Victoria says that the family name
was Mirbt but changed it to Mier as they felt that a more English name would help in the 1930s, as easier to
pronounce and presumably to sound less German at a time when there were tensions between the two
nations. She is still proud of being part of Alfred's family tree.
This is a remarkable story with a local connection, and a tribute to the power of social media. So, with a little
bit of continental drift, it seems that Alfred Wegener and Kenilworth have come into a surprising
juxtaposition!
Editor's comments: Alfred Wegener – the back story
Alfred Wegener (1880 – 1930) was a meteorologist and climatologist. Has it ever struck you as odd
that a meteorologist came up with one of, if not the, major revolution in geology in the 20th century?
Although separate disciplines were well established when Wegener began his academic career in
the early 20th century, the academic world was small enough for contacts to be easily made across
disciplines.
Two contacts were very significant for Wegener. If you look in your atlas for a map of World
Climatic Regions it may well say ‘after Koppen’, and the map shows the link between plant growth
and climatic type (e.g., Humid Tropics). Alfred was a student of Wladimir Koppen (and he married
Koppen’s daughter)
15