Alfred Wegener was a genius but pity poor Ludwig Boltzmann
JJB mentioned that Alfred Wegener was "was heartily laughed out of town in 1915 by just about everyone". As unfortunate as Wegener's story was, Boltzmann's was worse. Ludwig Boltzmann anticipated atomic theory and quantum mechanics long before anyone else. Boltzmann practically invented modern thermodynamics. However the abuse and derision Boltzmann was subjected to by jackasses and philistines drove the poor man to suicide. His death was one of the greatest tragedies of science.
Gary