Named in honor of George C. McVittie {1904–1988} on the occasion of his 80th birthday, 1984 June 5. Born in Turkey, he was educated and spent his early career in the U.K. Moving to the U.S., he served as head of the astronomy department at the University of Illinois from 1952 to 1972, during which time he converted a one-man undergraduate teaching department into a major graduate and research center. His own research was theoretical, involving relativity and cosmology, but he built up observational optical astronomy and added radio astronomy to the department to produce a well-rounded program. From 1961 to 1970 he served as secretary of the American Astronomical Society. Following his formal retirement he returned to the U.K. to a position at the University of Kent. (M 9080) _ _.