Probably not in the way that you're thinking. An eclipse is nothing more special than you holding something in front of a light. If for instance an extended eclipse occurred for years and years and years on end, then it might affect the earth in some way, but the way that eclipses work given our orbits, they don't last for more than a few hours. However, in the past it helped scientists perform some very interesting measurements to test Einstein's theory of Gravity (known as General Relativity). And in that fashion, it has helped humanity.