Finding the luminiferous aether a useless hypothesis , Einstein in 1905 '' a priori '' unified all inertial reference frames to state special '' principle '' of relativity , which , by omitting aether , converted space and time into '' relative '' phenomena whose relativity aligned electrodynamics with the Newtonian principle Galilean relativity or invariance . Originally epistemic or instrumental , this was interpreted as ontic or realist — that is , a causal mechanical explanation — and the '' principle '' became a '' theory '' , refuting Newtonian gravitation . By predictive success in 1919 , general relativity apparently overthrew Newton 's theory , a revolution in science resisted by many yet fulfilled around 1930
in 1919
Solar eclipse of May 29, 1919
Deductive-nomological model