It was discovered on 2 March 1981, by American astronomer Schelte Bus at the Siding Spring Observatory in Australia.

[2] Photometric observations of Donaldjohanson in August 2020 revealed that it is a slow rotator with an exceptionally high lightcurve amplitude of 1.7 magnitude.

[8][6] The lightcurve suggests that Donaldjohanson must either be highly elongated in shape, or possibly a synchronous binary system.

[8] Extensive photometric observations by the two TRAPPIST telescopes from November 2020 to February 2021 determined the rotation period of Donaldjohanson to be approximately 252 hours.

[3] This minor planet is planned to be visited by the Lucy spacecraft, which would observe it en route to its main target of several Jupiter trojans.