Arthur Eddington

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Lore & Background

Eddington was born 28 December 1882 in Kendal, Westmorland (now Cumbria), England, the son of Quaker parents. His father died in the typhoid epidemic which swept England in 1884. His mother was left to bring up her two children with relatively little income. The family moved to Weston-super-Mare. In 1893 Eddington entered Brynmelyn School. His performance earned him a scholarship to Owens College, Manchester (now University of Manchester) in 1898. He graduated with a BSc in physics with First Class Honours in 1902. Based on his performance at Owens College, he was awarded a scholarship to Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1902. In 1904 Eddington became the first ever second-year student to be placed as Senior Wrangler. After receiving his M.A. in 1905, he began research on thermionic emission in the Cavendish Laboratory. Through a recommendation by E. T. Whittaker, he secured a position at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, where he was to embark on his career in astronomy. In January 1906, Eddington was nominated to the post of chief assistant to the Astronomer Royal at the Royal Observatory. He developed a statistical method based on the apparent drift of two background stars, winning him the Smith's Prize in 1907. The prize won him a fellowship of Trinity College, Cambridge. In December 1912, George Darwin died suddenly, and Eddington was promoted to his chair as the Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy in early 1913. Later that year, Robert Ball also died, and Eddington was named the director of the Cambridge Observatory the next year. In May 1914, he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society. Around 1920, he anticipated the discovery and mechanism of nuclear fusion processes in stars, in his paper "The Internal Constitution of the Stars". He also led an expedition to observe the solar eclipse of 29 May 1919 on the Island of Príncipe that provided one of the earliest confirmations of general relativity.

Reader's Guide

Eddington's significance lies in his foundational contributions to astrophysics and the popularization of Einstein's theory of general relativity. His work on stellar interiors, including the mass–luminosity relation and the Eddington limit, shaped modern understanding of how stars generate energy and maintain stability. He was the first to correctly propose that nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium powers stars, a remarkable insight given that fusion and the hydrogen composition of stars were not yet known. His 1919 eclipse expedition provided crucial early evidence for general relativity, helping to establish Einstein's theory in the English-speaking world after World War I. Eddington also wrote a number of articles that announced and explained Einstein's theory of general relativity to the English-speaking world. As a populariser of science, he became known for his popular expositions and interpretations of Einstein's theory. As a philosopher of science, Eddington speculated on the implications of quantum mechanics on mind and matter. His book 'The Internal Constitution of the Stars' (1926) became an important text for training a generation of astrophysicists. Despite some disagreement, Eddington's models were eventually accepted as a powerful tool for further investigation, particularly in issues of stellar evolution.

Did You Know?

• Eddington was the first ever second-year student to be placed as Senior Wrangler at Cambridge in 1904.
• He led an expedition to the Island of Príncipe to observe the solar eclipse of 29 May 1919, providing one of the earliest confirmations of general relativity.
• Around 1920, Eddington correctly speculated that stellar energy came from the fusion of hydrogen into helium, liberating energy according to Einstein's equation E = mc².
• His father died in the typhoid epidemic which swept England in 1884.
• Eddington was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in May 1914.