Eugène Joseph Delporte

Minor planets discovered: 66
1052 Belgica	November 15 1925
1068 Nofretete	September 13 1926
1122 Neith	September 17 1928
1124 Stroobantia	October 6 1928
1128 Astrid	March 10 1929
1145 Robelmonte	February 3 1929
1168 Brandia	August 25 1930
1170 Siva	September 29 1930
1176 Lucidor	November 15 1930
1199 Geldonia	September 14 1931
1217 Maximiliana	March 13 1932
1221 Amor	March 12 1932
1222 Tina	June 11 1932
1239 Queteleta	February 4 1932
1261 Legia	March 23 1933
1274 Delportia	November 28 1932
1276 Ucclia	January 24 1933
1280 Baillauda	August 18 1933
1285 Julietta	August 21 1933
1288 Santa	August 26 1933
1290 Albertine	August 21 1933
1291 Phryne	September 15 1933
1293 Sonja	September 26 1933
1294 Antwerpia	October 24 1933
1329 Eliane	March 23 1933
1341 Edmée	January 27 1935
1350 Rosselia	October 3 1934
1361 Leuschneria	August 30 1935
1363 Herberta	August 30 1935
1366 Piccolo	November 29 1932
1374 Isora	October 21 1935
1375 Alfreda	October 22 1935
1388 Aphrodite	September 24 1935
1401 Lavonne	October 22 1935
1433 Geramtina	October 30 1937
1476 Cox	September 10 1936
1486 Marilyn	August 23 1938
1491 Balduinus	February 23 1938
1493 Sigrid	August 26 1938
1543 Bourgeois	September 21 1941
1560 Strattonia	December 3 1942
1664 Felix	February 4 1929
1672 Gezelle	January 29 1935
1698 Christophe	February 10 1934
1707 Chantal	September 8 1932
1711 Sandrine	January 29 1935
1722 Goffin	February 23 1938
1724 Vladimir	February 28 1932
1754 Cunningham	March 29 1935
1848 Delvaux	August 18 1933
1878 Hughes	August 18 1933
1926 Demiddelaer	May 2 1935
2101 Adonis	February 12 1936
2213 Meeus	September 24 1935
2276 Warck	August 18 1933
2331 Parvulesco	March 12 1936
2534 Houzeau	November 2 1931
2545 Verbiest	January 26 1933
2713 Luxembourg	February 19 1938
2819 Ensor	October 20 1933
2913 Horta	October 12 1931
3534 Sax	December 15 1936
3567 Alvema	November 15 1930
3605 Davy	November 28 1932
6354 Vangelis	April 3 1934
7043 Godart	September 2 1934

Eugène Joseph Delporte (January 10 1882–October 19 1955) was a Belgian astronomer.

Early Life

Born on January 10 1882 to Eugène-Marie and Alice Delport, in Antwerp, Belgium, his father served as a member of the Force Publique in the Congo Free State and the family subsequently lived in the Belgian Congo from 1884-1896, his brother, Patrice Yves Delporte was born in Leopoldville (now Kinshasa) in 1890.

Marriage and Children

Delporte married Marie Celeste du Bois on November 6 1912, they ha two sons and a daughter. Eugène Alexandre Delporte (1913), Simon-Laurènt Delporte (1917) and Louise Marie Delporte (1920). Simon-Laurent moved to South Africa in the 1940's and changed his surname to Delport, his descendents still live in South Africa and his great-great grandson is Member of Parliament for Johannesburg West, Jacobus Delport.

Discoveries

He discovered a total of sixty-six asteroids. Notable discoveries include 1221 Amor (which lent its name to the Amor asteroids) and the Apollo asteroid 2101 Adonis. He discovered or co-discovered some comets as well, including periodic comet 57P/du Toit-Neujmin-Delporte. He worked in the Observatoire Royal de Belgique (Belgian Royal Observatory), situated in the town of Uccle (after which the asteroid 1276 Ucclia is named).

In 1930 he fixed the modern boundaries between all of the constellations in the sky, along lines of right ascension and declination for the epoch B1875.0.

Delporte crater on the Moon is named after him.