Chladni, Ernst

Although this was contrary to popular, and also scientific, belief at the time, the German physicist Ernst Florens Friedrich Chladni (1756-1827) postulated that rocks could in fact fall from the heavens. His statement was supported by eyewitnesses who had observed the descent of meteorites. In France, Jean Baptiste Biot (1774-1862) was able to convince the Academy of Sciences in Paris that they should revise the memorandum which they had published ten years previously and agree that the meteorite fragments which had been found could in fact have their origin in outer space. 

Marvin U. B. (1996) Ernst Florens Chladni (1756-1827) and the origins of modern meteorite research. Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 31, 545-588. 

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