Arthur Eddington - Physicist, Astronomer and Quaker

Fri 6 September 2024

Quaker Meeting House

Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington was Director of The Cambridge Observatory from 1914 to his death in 1944, a fellow of Trinity College, and a Quaker. He is perhaps most remembered as a leading astrophysicist who proved Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity and as a philosopher and popularizer of science. As his biographer, Vibert Douglas observed: “Eddington was a man of great reserve who lived a life completely without ostentation - but as a man of science he was one of the super giants in an age of giants”.

In this talk David Robinson introduces the man, his life, his beliefs and the life he led in Cambridge. David has a distant family connection with Eddington and that is what first stimulated his interest in him. He will be bringing along some of the personal letters which Eddington wrote to his sister during his travels.

This event is hosted by Cambridge Quakers. To find out more about Quakers visit: quaker.org.uk/about-quakers


*This event is part of Open Cambridge. See the full programme here: https://www.opencambridge.cam.ac.uk/events*