It was discovered during the Palomar–Leiden survey on 24 September 1960, by astronomers Ingrid and Cornelis van Houten at Leiden, and Tom Gehrels at Palomar, California.
[6] The asteroid was later named after astronomer Karl Ludwig Harding.
Gehrels used Palomar's Samuel Oschin telescope (also known as the 48-inch Schmidt Telescope), and shipped the photographic plates to Ingrid and Cornelis van Houten at Leiden Observatory where astrometry was carried out.
[7] The asteroid is named after German astronomer Karl Ludwig Harding (1765–1834), who discovered the minor planet 3 Juno.
[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 15 October 1977 (M.P.C.