"Goodness. Yes--yes goodness, I suppose is the only suitable reaction really. I rather-- rather think, I might have stumbled upon quite the scientific anomaly here. I am quite certain that this was definitely not here, only moments ago. I was most certainly taking tea with Sir Oliver at the Observatory. This is really quite-- quite something."

Hello there Nexus, have a terribly reserved English astrophysicist from 1919. Arthur Eddington to be precise, and Arthur would approve as precision is his wont.

"Well-- well if a question is to be asked, then I am inclined to ask one of perhaps a moralistic or philosophical nature. Can the poetry of existence be satisfactorily explained by science, if one leaves room for God? Or is factoring God into the equation, a denial of scientific advancement?"

Arthur pauses, realising his question is perhaps erring on the philosophical side for most and adds, "Do you prefer home-made or shop bought jam with your scones?"

http://community.livejournal.com/dear_multiverse/4453128.html

Dear Madam,

Whilst I'm sure you think this is a dreadfully good idea, I'm compelled to express a little reticence, perhaps. I'm sure you'll forgive me for my-- how shall I put it?-- slightly uneasy acceptance of being placed in such an environment, but it remains to be said, I'd-- really, rather just get back to the Observatory if it wouldn't be too much trouble. I'm sure Winnie's wondering where I am by now, and I do have terribly important work to do.

Yours faithfully,

Arthur. S. Eddington.

[Arthur, meet three David Tennants and two John Simms - it was to be expected really]

"None of us can know what the world is, in the way that we used to know it. Einstein says that time is not the same for all of us, but different, for each one of us. Its very hard to conceive of such separate views, such relative ways of seeing. Today, is the first day of a new world, that is much harder to live in, less certain, more lonely. But which has at its heart, human endeavour. One man has shown us how, look at one man can do. In this man's work, in the beautiful complexity of the new universe he has shown us. I for one, have no doubt I can hear God, thinking."

The above is an extract from Eddington's speech to the Royal Astronomical Society in 1919, at Cambridge. During World War I Eddington was Secretary of the Royal Astronomical Society, which meant he was the first to receive a series of letters and papers from Willem de Sitter, regarding Einstein’s theory of general relativity. Eddington was fortunate in being not only one of the few astronomers with the mathematical skills to understand general relativity, but (owing to his international and pacifist views) one of the few who would have been interested in pursuing a theory developed by a German physicist. He quickly became the chief supporter and expositor of relativity in Britain. He and Astronomer Royal Frank Dyson organized two expeditions to observe a solar eclipse in 1919 to make the first empirical test of Einstein’s theory: the measurement of the deflection of light by the sun's gravitational field.

After the war, Eddington travelled to the island of Príncipe near Africa to watch the solar eclipse of 29 May 1919. During the eclipse, he took pictures of the stars in the region around the Sun. According to the theory of general relativity, stars near the Sun would appear to have been slightly shifted because their light had been curved by its gravitational field. This effect is noticeable only during an eclipse, since otherwise the Sun's brightness obscures the stars. Eddington showed that Newtonian gravitation could also be interpreted to predict half that predicted by Einstein. Somewhat confusingly, this same half-shift was predicted by Einstein with an incomplete version of general relativity.

Eddington's observations published next year confirmed Einstein's theory, and were hailed at the time as a conclusive proof of general relativity over the Newtonian model. The news was reported in newspapers all over the world as a major story. Afterward, Eddington embarked on a campaign to popularize relativity and the expedition as landmarks both in scientific development and international scientific relations.

Space, Time and Gravitation.
An Outline of the General Relativity Theory.
by
A.S. Eddington, M.A, M.Sc, F.R.S.
Plumerian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy, Cambridge.

1920