Benoît Mandelbrot, 1967, How Long Is the Coast of Britain? Statistical Self-Similarity and Fractional Dimension.Science, New Series, Vol. 156, No. 3775. (May 5, 1967), σσ. 636-638.
"Dr. Mandelbrot traced his work on fractals to a question he first encountered as a young researcher: how long is the coast of Britain?", Benoît Mandelbrot, Novel Mathematician, Dies at 85, The New York Times