Plate tectonics From Hypothesis to Theory 3) faced with puzzling data, scientist developed hypotheses to explain them Alfred Wegener proposed the most comprehensive early hypothesis for “ Continental drift”in1912Plate Tectonics: From Hypothesis to Theory (3) ◼ Faced with puzzling data, scientist developed hypotheses to explain them. ◼ Alfred Wegener proposed the most comprehensive early hypothesis for “Continental Drift” in 1912