Named for Johann Gottfried Herder (1744–1803), German philosopher, theologian, writer, translator and collector of folk songs. Through his study of history, language, culture, and literature, he became a great authority on the history of the European mind. Through Goethe, he was appointed head clergyman at the court of Weimar {see planet  (3539) in 1776. With Goethe, Schiller and Wieland {see, respectively, planets  (3047),  (3079),  (8108)}, Herder is one of the four “Greats” of the Weimar classical period. (M 31612) _ _.