June U. Gunter (January 15, 1911 – November 14, 1994), better known asJay U. Gunter orJ. U. Gunter, was an Americanpathologist andamateur astronomer.[1]
Gunter was born inSanford,North Carolina. In 1931 he graduated from theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and then continued here and at theJefferson Medical College inPhiladelphia with hismedical education. He received his degree in 1938. TheSecond World War he spent in theMedical Corps of theUnited States Navy. From 1947 he worked as Pathologist and Director of Laboratories, Watts Hospital inDurham, North Carolina. He was also a visiting Professor of Pathology at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.[1]
In 1976 Gunter retired and devoted the rest of his life to amateur astronomy. His main field of study andobservation wasasteroids. He founded and for more than 15 years published the popular magazineTonight's Asteroids. It was a bimonthly periodical, distributed free, containing finding charts and news from the world of asteroid studies. It was widely acknowledged for bringing attention of many amateur astronomers to asteroid observation.[1] In 1980 themain belt asteroid2136 Jugta was named in his honour (the name being anacronym of the first letters of his and his magazine's names).[2] In 1983 he received theAmateur Achievement Award of theAstronomical Society of the Pacific[3] and in 1989 the Caroline Herschel Award of theWestern Amateur Astronomer Society.[1]
| Preceded by | Amateur Achievement Award of Astronomical Society of the Pacific 1983 | Succeeded by |