Named in memory of the American astronomer Margaret Harwood (1885–1979). Appointed the first director of the Maria Mitchell {see planet  (1455)} Observatory in 1916, she maintained that post for 41 years. She had previously been an assistant at the Harvard College Observatory, where she worked again for 20 more years after her formal retirement. Known for her research on variable stars and the lightcurves of minor planets, she has been accorded only limited credit for her discovery of (886) Washingtonia four days before its official discovery at the U.S. Naval Observatory in November 1917. At that time, her mentors at Harward did not consider it appropriate for a woman to discover a minor planet. (M 30799) _ _.