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John Russell Hind (May 12 1823 – December 23 1895) was a British astronomer.
He began his career at the Royal Greenwich Observatory under George Biddell Airy. He later succeeded W. R. Dawes as director of the private observatory of George Bishop. In 1853 he became Superintendent of the Nautical Almanac, until 1891.
Some sources give his name as John Russel Hind with only one "L". However, 19th century British astronomical magazines consistently spell his name with two "L"s.
He is notable for being one of the early discoverers of asteroids. He also discovered and observed the variable stars R Leporis and T Tauri and discovered the variability of μ Cephei. He also discovered Nova Ophiuchi 1848.
His naming of the asteroid 12 Victoria caused some controversy. At the time, asteroids were not supposed to be named after living persons. He somewhat disingenuously claimed that the name was not a reference to Queen Victoria but the mythological figure Victoria.
He won the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1853. A crater on the Moon is named after him, as well as asteroid 1897 Hind.
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