Arthur Stanley Eddington

Who was Arthur Stanley Eddington?

Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington, OM, FRS was a British astronomer, physicist, and mathematician of the early 20th century who did his greatest work in astrophysics. He was also a philosopher of science and a popularizer of science. The Eddington limit, the natural limit to the luminosity of stars, or the radiation generated by accretion onto a compact object, is named in his honour.

He is famous for his work regarding the theory of relativity. Eddington wrote a number of articles which announced and explained Einstein's theory of general relativity to the English-speaking world. World War I severed many lines of scientific communication and new developments in German science were not well known in England. He also conducted an expedition to observe the Solar eclipse of 29 May 1919 that provided one of the earliest confirmations of relativity, and he became known for his popular expositions and interpretations of the theory.

He died from cancer in the Evelyn Nursing Home, Cambridge, on 22 November 1944 and was cremated at Cambridge Crematorium on 27 November 1944 and his cremated remains were buried in the grave of his mother at the Parish of the Ascension Burial Ground in Cambridge; there is a headstone for Arthur JOHN Eddington and wife in the burial ground of Yealand Quaker Meeting in Yealand Conyers, Lancashire.