What happened to change people's views and lead them to believe in continental drift?

The shape of the continents had been observed, that they fit together like a puzzle; this is easy to see with Africa and South America. Volcanoes and earthquakes had been found to only erupt in certain places - at the plate boundaries. Also, similar fossils had been found where the continents may have been connected. When satellite was introduced, some plate boundaries could even be seen from outer space.