Named in honor of Fred L.Whipple {1906– }, Harvard astronomer since 1931, professor since 1950 and director of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory from 1955 to 1973. His countless contributions to our knowledge of the smaller bodies of the solar system include his icy-conglomerate model for cometary nuclei, and the development of modern techniques for the photographic observations of meteors. He has served as president of IAU Commissions 6, 15, and 22, and is now active on the NASA panel of space missions to comets and minor planets. (M 3828) _ _.