Antonio Snider-Pellegrini

Antonio Snider-Pellegrini (1802–1885) was a French geographer and geologist who theorized about the possibility of continental drift, anticipating Wegener's theories concerning Pangaea by several decades.

Antonio Snider-Pellegrini
Born	1802 Trieste, Austrian Circle, Holy Roman Empire
Died	1885 New York City, New York, United States of America
Occupation	Geographer Geologist
Language	French
Nationality	French
Period	1858-1862
Notable works	La Création et ses mystères dévoilés

In 1858, Snider-Pellegrini made these two maps. They depict his interpretation of how the American and African continents may once have fit together before becoming separated.

In 1858, Snider-Pellegrini published his book, La Création et ses mystères dévoilés ("The Creation and its Mysteries Unveiled"). He proposed that all of the continents were once connected together during the Pennsylvanian Period. He based this theory on the fact that he had found plant fossils in both Europe and the United States that were identical. He found matching fossils on all of the continents.^{[1] [2]}

Also Pellegrini proposed a large change in the Earth's size during the time of the Biblical Genesis account.^[3]

He was a follower of Charles Fourier and is also remembered for his attempt to establish a Phalanstèry near Matagorda, Texas.^[4]

Pellegrini was preceded by Abraham Ortelius and followed by Eduard Suess, Roberto Mantovani, Frank Bursley Taylor, and Alfred Wegener as early advocates of continental drift.

References

1. Antonio Snider-Pellegrini: La Création es ses mystères dévoilé. Paris 1858.
2. Plate Tectonics Theory, National Park Service: for Teachers
3. Scalera, Giancarlo (2 Dec 2009). "Roberto Mantovani (1854-1933) and his ideas on the expanding Earth, as revealed by his correspondence and manuscripts". Annals of Geophysics. 52 (6): 617.
4. Centre d'analyse et de recherche nord-américaines et latines (Aix-en-Provence, France); Gachie-Pineda, Maryse; Vagnoux, Isabelle, eds. (1999). Latinos et Yankees: interactions dans l'espace anglo-hispanique des Amériques: actes du colloque des 26, 27 et 28 septembre 1997. Aix-en-Provence: Université de Provence. ISBN 978-2-85399-439-2. OCLC 42650487.