Named in memory of Gerald M. Clemence (1908–1974), Director of the U.S. Nautical Almanac Office from 1945 to 1958 and then the first scientific director of the U.S. Naval Observatory. Later he became professor of astronomy at the Yale Observatory. Although best known for his work on the theory of the motion of Mars, he made numerous other contributions in celestial mechanics, notably on the motion of Mercury and on the system of astronomical constants. He served as president of the American Astronomical Society and of IAU Commissions 4 and 7. Among his many honors were the awards of the Gold Medal of the R.A.S. and honorary doctorates from Case Institute of Technology and from Cuyo University in Western Argentina, where the Yale-Columbia Station was located. (M 3937) _ _.