Continuing my series of asteroids named after lgbt people I list those discovered after I was born and into the 1970s. Again, I have given quotes from the official Minor Planet Centre bulletins and some additional information.
(1812) Gilgamesh Discovered 24 Sept. 1960. Name published pre 1 Nov. 1979. “Named after the hero of an old Babylonian saga.” Gilgamesh had a close homoerotic, if not homosexual, relationship with his former enemy Enkidu.
(2940) Bacon Discovered 24 Sept. 1960. Name published 29 Sept 1985. “Named for the English scholar Francis Bacon (1561-1626), thought by some to have been the author of Shakespeare's plays.” Sir Francis Bacon was also a courtier to King James I, both of whom were partial to young toy boys.
(5450) Sokrates Discovered 24 Sept. 1960. Name published 1 Sept 1993. “Named after the Greek philosopher Sokrates (c.470—399 BC), who taught that one should always say the truth. He was forced to drink hemlock, because the state was afraid that Sokrates influenced the youth and denied the official religion...” This “influence” included having sex with his pupils.
(12148) Caravaggio Discovered 24 Sept. 1960. Name published 11 Nov. 2010. “Michelangelo Merisa da Caravaggio (1571–1610) was an Italian artist of the Renaissance. He was almost forgotten after his death, but in the 20th century his importance was rediscovered because of his great influence on the Baroque style during the Counter Reformation.”
(1859) Kovalevskaya Discovered 4 Sept. 1972. Name published 1 Nov. 1979. “Named in honour of Sophie Kovalevskaya (1850-1891), the first Russian woman mathematician, associate member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, widely known for her researches on differential equations … and the rotational motion of solid bodies.”
(4005) Dyagilev Discovered 8 Oct. 1972. Name published 19 Oct. 1994. “Named in memory of the Russian impressario Sergej Pavlovich Dyagilev (1872-1929). He is mainly known as the patron of art and literature and the founder of the travelling Russian ballet company.” His name is more often spelt “Diaghilev”.
(4007) Euryalos Discovered 19 Sept. 1973. Name published 11 Mar. 1990. “Named for the commander of the troops from Argos during the siege of Troy.” This young warrior was the boyfriend of Nisus and both fought with the Trojans. They were killed during a daring night-time raid on a Roman camp.
(4877) Humboldt Discovered 25 Sept. 1973. Name published 12 May 1992. “Named after the scientist Friedrich Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt (1769-1859), who made extended expeditions to Siberia and South America to study the flora and geology of each region...”
(7446) Hadrianus Discovered 29 Sept. 1973. Name published 16 Oct. 1997. “Named for Publius Aelius Hadrianus (76-138)... Hadrian stopped the expansion of the Roman empire, putting his energy instead into the construction of excellent roads, aqueducts and new cities. He also fortified the borders of the immense empire, notably with the wall between England and Scotland...” His lover Antinous does not yet have an asteroid named after him.
(2226) Tchaikovsky Discovered 12 Nov. 1974. Named after the Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893). A new film biography of Tchaikovsky to be made in Russia deliberately leaves out all references to his homosexuality, and President Putin even denies Tchaikovsky’s homosexuality.
(2476) Andersen Discovered 2 May 1976. Name published 2 July 1985. “Named for Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875), great Danish writer of fairy tales.”
(4753) Phidias Discovered 16 Oct. 1977. Name published 16 May 1992. “Named for the famous Greek … architect, a sculptor in bronze and a painter … his work is said to have included sculptures for the Acropolis…”. Phidias (c.500-432 BC) produced the statue of Zeus at Olympia, one of the Seven Wonders of the World which played a role in the ancient Olympics. While working on the Parthenon his young lover Pantarkes became Olympic wrestling champion.
(2810) Lev Tolstoj Discovered 13 Sept. 1978. Name published 15 May 1984. “Named for the great Russian writer Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoj (1828-1910).” Recent biographers have pointed out Tolstoy’s homosexual tendencies.
(9917) Keynes Discovered 26 June 1979. Name published 9 Feb 2009. “British economist John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946) set down the foundations of macroeconomics with his ‘General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money’ (1936) … his ideas … were widely revived in 2007-8 as a cure for the worldwide recession.” Keynes surprised all his friends when he announced his marriage to a ballerina – he had been actively gay until then.
(3306) Byron Discovered 24 Sept. 1979. Name published 2 Apr. 1988. “Named for the great English poet Lord George Noel Gordon Byron (1788-1824).” His daughter Ada, Countess of Lovelace also has an asteroid named after her (no. 232923)
ASTEROID ALLIES
(4294) Horatius Discovered 24 Sept 1960. Name published 8 July 1990. “Named for the Roman poet Horatio (65-8 BC), whose main poems are collected in ‘Sermones’, ‘Carmina’ and ‘Epistolae’.” Horatio, or Horace, wrote often about same-sex love.
(14310) Shuttleworth Discovered 7 Aug. 1966. Name published 6 Aug. 2006. “South African businessman Mark Shuttleworth (b.1973) was the first citizen of a country in Africa to venture into space. A civilian cosmonaut on a Soyuz mission in 2002… where he participated in experiments involving AIDS and genome research.”
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