Named in honor of Albert E. Whitford {1905–2002}, director of the Washburn Observatory (1945–1958), director of the Lick Observatory (1958–1968), and a past president of the American Astronomical Society. As a pioneer in photoelectric photometry he developed, in collaboration with Stebbins {see planet  (2300)}, the first precise multicolor photometric system. He made major contributions in both galactic and extragalactic research. His studies of the wavelength dependence of interstellar extinction are fundamental to the understanding of interstellar particles, and the standard galactic extinction curve is referred to as the Whitford curve. (M 8403) _ _.