Changes

Eddington was a [[conscientious objector]] during [[World War I]]. This wasn't a popular position at his time. When general conscription was introduced in 1916, Eddington entered his plea to claim exemption on grounds of conscience, but his university had requested the authorities not to withdraw him from his scientific researches. Eddington had declared:

Eddington was a [[conscientious objector]] during [[World War I]]. This wasn't a popular position at his time. When general conscription was introduced in 1916, Eddington entered his plea to claim exemption on grounds of conscience, but his university had requested the authorities not to withdraw him from his scientific researches. Eddington had declared:

<blockquote>"My objection to war is based on religious grounds. I cannot believe that God is calling me to go out to slaughter men, many of whom are animated by the same motives of patriotism and supposed religious duty that have sent my countrymen into the field. To assert that it is our religious duty to cast off the moral progress of centuries and take part in the passions and barbarity of war is to contradict my whole conception of what the Christian religion means. Even if the abstention of conscientious objectors were to make the difference between victory and defeat, we cannot truly benefit the nation by wilful disobedience to the divine will."<ref>A. Vibert Douglas ''"The Life of Arthur Stanley Eddington"'', Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd, 1956, p. 93</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>"My objection to war is based on religious grounds. I cannot believe that God is calling me to go out to slaughter men, many of whom are animated by the same motives of patriotism and supposed religious duty that have sent my countrymen into the field. To assert that it is our religious duty to cast off the moral progress of centuries and take part in the passions and barbarity of war is to contradict my whole conception of what the Christian religion means. Even if the abstention of conscientious objectors were to make the difference between victory and defeat, we cannot truly benefit the nation by wilful disobedience to the divine will."<ref>A. Vibert Douglas ''"The Life of Arthur Stanley Eddington"'', Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd, 1956, p. 93</ref></blockquote>

He was exempted until Aug 1, 1918, and  the Astronomer Royal Sir Frank Dyson supported the idea of an expedition - led by Eddington - to observe the solar eclipse of 1919.<ref>From the ''New York Times'': "Eddington, a Quaker and conscientious objector, was concerned that wartime resentments were damaging the international scientific community. He leapt on Einstein’s relativity as a means of restoring harmony. As the historian Matthew Stanley has documented, Eddington’s superiors in London and Cambridge lobbied British government officials to let him devote his mandatory wartime service to preparing an astronomical expedition to test one of Einstein’s major predictions, that gravity could bend the path of starlight. By leading a British team to test the work of a German physicist, Eddington hoped to 'heal the wounds of war.'" [http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/08/opinion/how-politics-shaped-general-relativity.html?_r=0 David Kaiser, "How Politics Shaped General Relativity," NY Times (Nov. 6, 2015).]</ref>

He was exempted until Aug 1, 1918, and  the Astronomer Royal Sir Frank Dyson supported the idea of an expedition - led by Eddington - to observe the solar eclipse of 1919.<ref>From the ''New York Times'': "Eddington, a Quaker and conscientious objector, was concerned that wartime resentments were damaging the international scientific community. He leapt on Einstein’s relativity as a means of restoring harmony. As the historian Matthew Stanley has documented, Eddington’s superiors in London and Cambridge lobbied British government officials to let him devote his mandatory wartime service to preparing an astronomical expedition to test one of Einstein’s major predictions, that gravity could bend the path of starlight. By leading a British team to test the work of a German physicist, Eddington hoped to 'heal the wounds of war.'" [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/08/opinion/how-politics-shaped-general-relativity.html?_r=0 David Kaiser, "How Politics Shaped General Relativity," NY Times (Nov. 6, 2015).]</ref>

==The Eclipse of 1919==

==The Eclipse of 1919==