Gerard Kuiper

Gerard Peter Kuiper was a Dutch-born astronomer, cartographer, and university teacher. He held citizenship in the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United States. Kuiper was educated at Leiden University and began his professional work in 1933. His career included positions at Lick Observatory, Harvard College Observatory, Yerkes Observatory, and the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. He spoke Dutch and English as native and spoken languages.

Kuiper was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Sciences. He received the Prix Jules Janssen and the Henry Norris Russell Lectureship. His doctoral advisor was Ejnar Hertzsprung, and his doctoral students included Tom Gehrels and Carl Sagan. He died of a myocardial infarction in Mexico City on December 24, 1973.