PIRIE, NORMAN WINGATE

British biochemist and virologist who, with his long-time collaborator, Frederick Bawden, demonstrated that the genetic material found in viruses is RNA. In later years Pirie championed the use of extracted leaf protein as a dietary supplement (b. July 1, 1907--d. March 29, 1997). Canadian-born American cell biologist (b. June 11, 1912, Yarmouth, N.S.--d. May 2, 1997, Bryn Mawr, Pa.), was one of the founding fathers of modern cell biology and pioneered the use of the electron microscope to observe biological cells and the fine structures within them. While working in the 1940s at the Rockefeller Institute (later Rockefeller University), New York City, Porter developed a technique called whole-mount electron microscopy, by which images of single, complete cells, magnified about 100,000 times, were produced. The procedure provided a window through which scientists were able to view the internal organization of the cell in detail for the first time. As an undergraduate, Porter studied biology at Acadia University, Wolfville, N.S., and went on to receive a doctorate in biology (1938) from Harvard University. After graduation he moved (1939) to the Rockefeller Institute, where during the 1940s and '50s he and colleague George Palade, along with other scientists, made many significant contributions to the study of cell structure, including the understanding that cells are divided and, in large part, organized by highly convoluted networks of skeletal-like microtubules and membranous sacs. In 1961 Porter returned to Harvard, and he later (1965-67) served as chairman of the biology department. He moved on in 1968 to establish and head the department of molecular, cellular, and developmental biology at the University of Colorado at Boulder. After relinquishing the chairmanship in 1975, Porter worked for several years as part-time director of the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Mass. He helped organize the American Society for Cell Biology and the Tissue Culture Association and also was instrumental in starting the Journal of Biophysical and Biochemical Cytology, now the Journal of Cell Biology. Porter was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 1964 and received a number of prestigious awards, including the National Medal of Science (1977). In addition to writing more than 200 scientific papers, he published several books, notably An Introduction to the Fine Structure of Cells and Tissues (1963; with Mary Bonneville). Pritchett, Sir Victor Sawdon ("V.S.") , British writer (b. Dec. 16, 1900, Ipswich, Suffolk, Eng.--d. March 20, 1997, London, Eng.), was especially appreciated for his dozens of short stories, though for some six decades he also wrote prolifically in a number of other genres--novels, essays, travelogues, biographies, and literary criticism. His powers of observation inspired stories that examined people leading ordinary lives and revealed their uniqueness, their aspirations, and the extraordinary circumstances in which they often found themselves. Pritchett's family was not well-off, and as he recounted in his first volume of autobiography, A Cab at the Door (1968), his father's business failures caused them to move frequently around the London area to stay ahead of creditors. His education was therefore haphazard, though he read voraciously and had an aptitude for languages. When Pritchett was 15, he had to leave school and take a clerical job, but when he was 20, he moved to Paris. He worked there at a variety of jobs, traveled, and began writing. The Christian Science Monitor published some of his essays and then hired him as a foreign correspondent, sending him first to Ireland and then to Spain, which caught his imagination--Pritchett's first book, Marching Spain (1928), recounted a walking trip, and his first book of short stories was The Spanish Virgin and Other Stories (1930). Returning to London, he became (1926) a literary critic for the New Statesman, an association that lasted some four decades. He also contributed to such periodicals as The Nation and The New Yorker. Pritchett's novels include Dead Man Leading (1937) and--his last and best-known-- Mr. Beluncle (1951). His second volume of autobiography, Midnight Oil, was published in 1971. Among his books of essays are In My Good Books (1942), Books in General (1953), The Myth Makers (1979), and Complete Collected Essays (1997), and short stories were collected in such volumes as You Make Your Own Life (1938), When My Girl Comes Home (1961), and On the Edge of the Cliff (1979). The Complete Short Stories appeared in 1990. Pritchett was appointed C.B.E. in 1968 and knighted in 1975. Purcell, Edward Mills American physicist (b. Aug. 30, 1912, Taylorville, Ill.--d. March 7, 1997, Cambridge, Mass.), shared the 1952 Nobel Prize for Physics with Felix Bloch for independently developing nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), a method used to detect and measure the magnetic fields of atomic nuclei and a powerful tool for investigating molecular structures and chemical interactions. Purcell's work formed the basis of spectroscopic and imaging techniques with applications ranging from chemical analysis and radio astronomy to medical diagnosis. He studied electrical engineering as an undergraduate at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind., during which time he developed an interest in physics. After graduation (B.S., 1933) he spent a year at the Technische Hochschule in Karlsruhe, Ger., studying physics as an international exchange student. On returning to the United States, he enrolled at Harvard University, receiving a master's degree (1935) and doctorate (1938) in physics. Purcell, who spent most of his career at Harvard, served as an instructor there until 1941 and as a full professor from 1949 until his retirement in 1980. He took a brief leave of absence from the university during World War II, however, when he contributed to the war effort as a member of a research team investigating shortwave radar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He returned to Harvard in 1946 and soon thereafter developed NMR methodology for measuring magnetic fields in atomic nuclei. In 1951 Purcell applied the principles of this discovery to detecting the wavelengths of radiation emitted from neutral hydrogen clouds in space. His research proved useful to astronomers attempting to map galactic structures in the universe. Purcell wrote a number of classic books on microwaves, electricity, and magnetism, including Physics: For Science and Engineering Students (1952), which he coauthored, and Electricity and Magnetism (1965). He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1951 and received the National Medal of Science from the National Science Foundation in 1978. Rata, Matiu New Zealand Maori politician who spent 33 years in Parliament fighting to resolve historic Maori grievances; he set up the Waitangi Tribunal, which dealt with Maori land claims (b. March 26, 1934--d. July 25, 1997). Remer, Otto Ernst Fritz Adolf German military officer and political activist who was instrumental in thwarting a 1944 military coup against Adolf Hitler; active in neo-Nazi organizations, he went into exile in 1994 to avoid a jail sentence stemming from his public denial of the Holocaust (b. Dec. 18, 1912--d. Oct. 5, 1997). Reynolds, Marjorie (Marjorie Goodspeed) American actress whose career was highlighted by her portrayal of both Bing Crosby's and Fred Astaire's love interest in the 1942 film classic Holiday Inn; other notable roles included the Viennese refugee in Fritz Lang's 1944 film of Graham Greene's Ministry of Fear and Peg Riley in the 1953-58 TV series "The Life of Riley" (b. Aug. 12, 1921--d. Feb. 1, 1997). Ricard, Paul-Louis-Marius French business executive who created the fashionable Ricard pastis, an anise-flavoured liquor that became the third largest-selling alcoholic beverage in the world. The son of a Marseille wine merchant, Ricard built his family business into an international beverage conglomerate (b. July 9, 1909--d. Nov. 6, 1997). Richey, Charles Robert American federal judge whose influential rulings during his 25 years on the bench advanced women's rights and checked presidential powers; he presided over several Watergate cases and strongly supported the people's right to know the actions of government (b. Oct. 16, 1923--d. March 19, 1997). Richter, Sviatoslav (Svyatoslav Teofilovich Rikhter) Russian pianist (b. March 20, 1915, Zhitomir, Ukraine, Russian Empire--d. Aug. 1, 1997, Moscow, Russia), was considered one of the preeminent pianists of the 20th century. Richter's distinctive playing managed to balance technical virtuosity with subtle introspection. Though his repertoire was enormous, he was especially praised for his interpretations of Bach, Schumann, Liszt, Prokofiev, and Mussorgsky. Richter's father, an organist and composer, taught his son musical rudiments at an early age--the young Richter largely taught himself piano on the side. As a teenager he became a coach at the Odessa (Ukraine) Opera, where he astounded others with his sight-reading ability. Though initially a composer, by age 20 Richter had decided to devote himself to piano. In 1937 he became a pupil of Heinrich Neuhaus at the Moscow Conservatory. Having met Prokofiev that year, Richter went on to premiere the composer's Sixth Sonata in 1940, as well as the Seventh and Ninth sonatas in later years. In 1945 Richter won the U.S.S.R. Music Competition. During the 1950s he toured Eastern Europe and China. Meanwhile, the West eagerly awaited Richter's appearance. "Every musician in town was present," reported the New York Times, for his 1960 debut at Carnegie Hall. To great acclaim, he subsequently toured Western Europe, Japan, and elsewhere. In 1970 Richter made his last appearance in North America. He favoured intimate venues, such as the Aldeburgh festival in England, where he played Schubert duets with his friend Benjamin Britten. In 1964 Richter started a lifelong association with the French Ftes Musicales near Tours. Because he detested the artificiality of the studio, more than half of his recordings were of live performances. Among Richter's distinguished recorded works are his superb performance of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, as well as his controversial interpretation of Schubert's Sonata in B Flat Major, which features an unusually slow, hypnotic first movement. Though Richter always considered himself to be "a mirror" to the composer, his independent style drew some dissent. Critics took him to task for overpowering Schubert or, alternatively, being inappropriately introspective with Beethoven. Eccentric, though never flamboyant, Richter was indifferent to his audience; "I play above all for myself," he once said. Rippon of Hexham, Aubrey Geoffrey Frederick Rippon, Baron British politician, Conservative member of Parliament (1955-64, 1966-87), and Cabinet member (1963-64), who negotiated Great Britain's 1973 entrance into the European Economic Community (b. May 28, 1924--d. Jan. 28, 1997). Robbins, Harold American novelist (b. May 21, 1916, New York, N.Y.--d. Oct. 14, 1997, Palm Springs, Calif.), created gossipy-style formulaic works that featured the triple themes of sex, money, and power and made him one of the best-selling authors of all time. He once bragged that he had experienced firsthand all the vices he presented in his novels. Orphaned at birth, Robbins was placed in a Roman Catholic orphanage and was given the name Francis Kane. He was raised in several foster homes and assumed the last name Rubins from a Jewish foster family, but he changed it when his writing career took off. At the age of 19, he began speculating on crop futures; he became a millionaire the following year but lost his fortune after speculating unsuccessfully in sugar. After filing for bankruptcy, Robbins took a job with Universal Pictures. Dissatisfied with the films that the studio was producing, he bet the head of production $100 that he could write a better story. Never Love a Stranger (1948), his first novel, made him a best-selling author. The Dream Merchants (1949) and A Stone for Danny Fisher (1952) followed. In 1961 Robbins realized international fame when The Carpetbaggers, a blockbuster novel based on the life of millionaire Howard Hughes, was released. It sold millions of copies and became the fourth most-read book in history. His 23 books--all currently in print--were distributed in more than 40 countries and sold 750 million copies; many of his works were also adapted for motion pictures. Rodrguez Pedotti, Andrs Paraguayan politician (b. June 19, 1923, Borja, Paraguay--d. April 21, 1997, New York, N.Y.), served (1989-93) as president of Paraguay after leading the coup that overthrew the nearly 35-year-old dictatorship of Gen. Alfredo Stroessner. He succeeded in establishing a democracy and restoring civil liberties and conducted the first truly free elections in Paraguay's history as an independent nation. Rodrguez's army career began (1942) with his entrance into the country's military academy, from which he graduated four years later. A captain when Stroessner became president in 1954, Rodrguez began rising in the ranks with his promotion (1961) to colonel and assumption of command of the important 1st Cavalry Division. He became brigadier general in 1967 and general in 1970, by then second in command only to Stroessner himself. He became wealthy in this post through the ownership of a number of businesses, and it was rumoured, though never proved, that he was also involved in drug smuggling. Nonetheless, despite his powerful position, in 1989 Rodrguez, who had become commander of the 1st Army Corps, staged a bloody coup, declared himself acting president, and three months later was elected to a four-year term. In 1993 he kept his promise to give up power to the civilian winner of a democratic election and turned the office over to Juan Carlos Wasmosy. Rodrguez then retired from the army and was named a senator for life. Rogers, Jimmy (James Lane) American blues musician who played rhythm guitar in the Muddy Waters band of the 1950s, considered the finest electric blues band, and achieved renown with his own '50s recordings, including "Walking by Myself," "Chicago Bound," and "Sloppy Drunk," in which his genial singing was usually accompanied by the Waters band; he left the music business in the '60s only to return in the '70s, playing in Chicago, his hometown, and on international tours (b. June 3, 1924--d. Dec. 19, 1997). Rosario, Edwin ("Chapo") Puerto Rican boxer who won the world lightweight championship three times and the junior welterweight once but was hindered by drug-abuse problems. He died of acute pulmonary edema that was thought to have been caused by drugs. His career record stood at 43 wins, 37 of them by knockout, and 6 losses (b. March 19, 1963--d. Dec. 1, 1997). Rossi, Aldo Italian architect (b. May 3, 1931, Milan, Italy--d. Sept. 4, 1997, Milan), created simple yet powerful works by using such geometric shapes as cones, cylinders, and squares and by making skillful use of light and shadow. Rossi was educated at the Milan Polytechnic and following graduation (1959) went to work for the design magazine Casabella, becoming its editor in 1964. In 1966 he set forth his architecture theories in L'architettura della citt (The Architecture of the City, 1982), which established his reputation as a theorist and became an influential classic. He later published the manifesto Architettura razionale (1973) and A Scientific Autobiography (1981). Considered Rossi's most famous design was the Cemetery of San Cataldo in Modena, Italy (1971-77), in which a simple cube-shaped ossuary is surrounded by an apparently unending colonnade. Other well-known works were the Teatro del Mondo, created for the 1980 Venice Biennale; the Museum of Maastricht, Neth.; and the Hotel Il Palazzo in Fukuoka, Japan. In 1990 Rossi was honoured with the Pritzker Prize, architecture's highest award. Rosten, Leo Calvin Polish-born American writer (b. April 11, 1908, Lodz, Pol.--d. Feb. 19, 1997, New York, N.Y.), had a six-decade-long career during which he wrote numerous works, both fiction and nonfiction, that celebrated the culture, humour, and language of the Jewish people. He was best known for two books: The Education of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N (1937), which was based on the language struggles of an immigrant student in one of his night English classes and first appeared in The New Yorker as a series of short stories written under the name Leonard Q. Ross; and The Joys of Yiddish (1968), a lighthearted reference work of commonly used Yiddish expressions. Rosten moved to the U.S. with his family when he was three, and they settled in Chicago. He was educated at the University of Chicago (Ph.B., 1930; Ph.D., 1937) and the London School of Economics and Political Science. To help pay for his studies, Rosten taught the evening classes that inspired some of his stories, and he later taught at the University of Chicago, Columbia University, New York City, Yale University, and the University of California, Berkeley, among others. During World War II he worked for the U.S. government in such capacities as chief of the Motion Pictures Division of the Office of Facts and Figures and deputy director of the Office of War Information. As a consultant to the secretary of war, he was sent to France, Germany, and England on a special mission, and from 1947 to 1949 he worked for the RAND Corporation. Among Rosten's other works were Hollywood: The Movie Colony, the Movie Makers (1941), a sociological study of the film industry; six screenplays; and sequels to the Kaplan book, The Return of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N (1959) and O K*A*P*L*A*N! My K*A*P*L*A*N! (1976). Rowse, A.(lfred) L.(eslie) British historian and author (b. Dec. 4, 1903, Tregonissey, Cornwall, Eng.--d. Oct. 3, 1997, St. Austell, Cornwall), was widely respected for his scholarly studies of Elizabethan England and his 1942 best-selling memoir, A Cornish Childhood. Although his parents were barely literate, Rowse learned to read at the age of four. Having won scholarships to grammar school and the University of Oxford, he took a first in history in 1925 at Christ Church College, and soon after he was elected a fellow of All Souls College, where he taught and wrote for the next 49 years. Rowse went on to earn a master's degree (1929) and a doctorate (1953) from Oxford. With Sir Richard Grenville of the Revenge (1937), a book about a 16th-century naval officer, he established himself as a writer with both solid scholarly credentials and popular appeal. The Elizabethan Age, a three-volume historical study published in stages from 1950 to 1972, assured him of a place in the canon, but his works on Shakespeare, including two biographies, earned him the disdain of many Shakespearean scholars, who questioned his research. Rowse announced in the early 1970s that he had, through a close reading of the sonnets and the diary of a contemporary Elizabethan figure, discovered the definitive identity of Shakespeare's mistress known as the Dark Lady, and he would brook no argument from those literary critics who considered his evidence circumstantial at best. Relishing the controversy, Rowse dismissed the unbelievers as "third-raters." The author of some 90 books, Rowse continued writing throughout his life, publishing his last book, Historians I Have Known, in 1995. He was made a Companion of Honour in 1996. Royko, Michael ("Mike") American journalist (b. Sept. 19, 1932, Chicago, Ill.--d. April 29, 1997, Chicago), was the sometimes irreverent, sometimes cantankerous or controversial, sometimes funny or satiric, and sometimes poignant--but always interesting--champion of the "little guy" in columns published in Chicago's major newspapers and syndicated to hundreds of others. Five days a week for most of his 30-plus years as a columnist, he fearlessly expounded on the issues of the day and came to the rescue of the downtrodden, occasionally using the voice of his working-class alter ego Slats Grobnik or "expert" psychiatrist Dr. I.M. Kookie. In 1972 his efforts won him a Pulitzer Prize. In later years what were perceived as slurs against minority groups gave rise to several protests, but Royko, though unhappy that his satire was not being understood as such, did not change his style. He grew up over his father's tavern, a vantage point that helped form his view of life in Chicago. He cut short his college education to join the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War and eventually fibbed his way into a job on the base's newspaper, where he appropriated space for his own column. Upon Royko's return to civilian life, he became (1956) a reporter for the Lincoln-Belmont Booster and then (1956-59) worked at the City News Bureau. In 1959 he started at the Chicago Daily News, and in 1964 he became a full-time columnist. Royko's favourite targets included corrupt officials, bigots, and politicians misusing their power. He did not hesitate to take on Chicago's mayor at the time, Richard J. Daley, and Royko's best-selling book Boss (1971) was an especially thorough look at the Daley political machine. With the closing down (1978) of the Daily News, Royko moved to the Chicago Sun-Times. It was for that paper that he wrote perhaps the most memorable and moving of his columns, about the death (1979) of his first wife, Carol, with whom he had fallen in love when he was nine years old. When Rupert Murdoch's conglomerate bought (1984) the Sun-Times, Royko moved to the Chicago Tribune, where he remained for the rest of his career. Rudolph, Paul American architect (b. Oct. 23, 1918, Elkton, Ky.--d. Aug. 8, 1997, New York, N.Y.), became one of the most eminent postwar Modernist architects in the U.S. before fading into relative obscurity in the 1970s. Rudolph studied with German Modernist Walter Gropius at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, where he earned (1947) a master's degree in architecture. One year later he established his own architectural firm in Sarasota, Fla. His designs for a series of spare, airy houses in the Siesta Key area earned him a reputation as a virtuoso composer of space, form, and light. His renown quickly spread, and in 1957 Rudolph was named chairman of Yale University's prestigious architecture school, a position he held until 1965. During his tenure he completed one of the most defining commissions of his career--the 10-story Art and Architecture Building on the Yale campus. Never simply a slavish disciple of European Modernism, Rudolph, it was said, "broke the Atlantic sound barrier, creating designs that were more than the sum of their European influences." Anchored by poured-in-place concrete towers, the Yale building's exterior formed a lively collage of interlocking geometric shapes. In contrast to this monumental street presence, the interior appeared seamless, flowing, and shot with light, an illusion Rudolph created by using a complex assemblage of 37 different levels divided by glass walls. The building, however, became the target of student protesters who set fire to it in 1969. By then, Rudolph's reputation had begun to decline in the United States, and his abstract Modernist aesthetic was soon eclipsed by the growing popularity of Postmodernism's revival of historical styles and ornamentation. He continued, however, to find an audience for his work in Asia. Working from his historic brownstone on Beekman Place in New York City, famous in design circles for the architect's controversial Modernist renovation in the 1960s, Rudolph drafted monolithic high-rise projects for such cities as Hong Kong, Singapore, and Jakarta, Indon. Sager, Ruth American geneticist (b. Feb. 7, 1918, Chicago, Ill.--d. March 29, 1997, Brookline, Mass.), conducted groundbreaking research on where genetic material is found in cells; her findings changed the way that biologists view cell heredity. Later in her career she studied the genetic mechanisms related to cancer. Sager entered the University of Chicago at age 16, sampling the liberal arts before a chance encounter with a survey course on biology ignited her interest in the field. She graduated with a B.S. in 1938. Graduate work in plant physiology followed at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J., where she received an M.S. in 1944. She continued graduate studies in genetics at Columbia University, New York City, earning a doctorate in 1948. Sager joined the research staff at the Rockefeller Institute (now Rockefeller University), New York City, as an assistant in 1951. There she challenged the prevailing theory that inherited characteristics are transmitted exclusively by the genes in the chromosomes, which are found in a cell's nucleus. In studying heredity in Chlamydomonas alga, she discovered that a gene located outside the chromosomes also transmits inherited characteristics. Nonchromosomal genes were later shown to be ubiquitous in living organisms. In 1955 Sager joined Columbia University's zoology department, where she expanded her understanding of how nonchromosomal genes work. She served as a professor of biology at Hunter College, New York City, from 1966 through 1975, when she was appointed professor of cellular genetics at Harvard University and head of Harvard's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Sager's extensive research into the mechanisms associated with cancer involved tumour suppressor genes, breast cancer, and the genetic means by which cancer multiplies. Her numerous prizes included the Gilbert Morgan Smith Medal, the National Cancer Institute's Outstanding Investigator Award, and a Guggenheim fellowship. Salkind, Alexander German-born film producer best known for the popular Superman movies that featured Christopher Reeve as the superhero (b. June 2, 1921--d. March 8, 1997). Snchez Vilella, Roberto Puerto Rican politician who, as governor of Puerto Rico (1964-69), helped modernize the U.S. commonwealth (b. 1913--d. March 25, 1997). Santi, Gino P. American engineer whose long career with the U.S. Air Force was most notable for his development of the pilot ejection system (b. 1916/17?--d. April 3, 1997). Sarlos, Andrew Hungarian-born Canadian investor and philanthropist who both made and lost fortunes and came to be known as the "Buddha of Bay Street" because of his expertise and daring in deal making and playing the stock market; he shared his knowledge and his money, and he was awarded the Order of Canada in recognition of the contributions he made to charities (b. Nov. 24, 1931--d. April 28, 1997). Saw Maung Burmese general and politician who led the junta that took over the Burmese government in a bloody coup in 1988; he served as head of the repressive regime until 1992 (b. December 1928--d. July 24, 1997). Schramm, David N. American theoretical astrophysicist who was an international leader in the field of cosmology and a distinguished professor (1974-97) at the University of Chicago; by making a cosmic inventory of the material making up the universe, he helped determine that most of the universe consists of unseen and as-yet-unknown forms of matter. He was killed when the plane he was piloting crashed near Denver (b. Oct. 25, 1945--d. Dec. 19, 1997). Schwarzschild, Martin German-born American astronomer who in 1957 introduced the use of high-altitude hot-air balloons to carry scientific instruments and photographic equipment into the stratosphere for solar research (b. May 31, 1912--d. April 10, 1997). Sengstacke, John H. American editor and longtime influential publisher, notably of the Chicago Defender, the national voice of African-Americans; he used his formidable role to champion civil rights, including the integration of the armed forces, the breaking of the colour barrier in major league baseball, and the coverage of a presidential press conference by a black reporter (b. Nov. 25, 1912--d. May 28, 1997). Seni Pramoj, Mom Rajawong Thai diplomat and politician whose refusal to honour Japanese demands that he deliver a Thai declaration of war against the U.S. and the U.K. during World War II kept the U.S. from attacking Thailand and gained U.S. aid in organizing resistance forces (b. May 26, 1905--d. July 28, 1997). Shabazz, Betty (Betty Sanders) American educator and civil rights activist who was the widow of assassinated black nationalist leader Malcolm X and from 1976 served on the faculty of Medgar Evers College, Brooklyn, N.Y., most recently as director of institutional advancement; she died from burns suffered in a fire set by her emotionally troubled grandson (b. May 28, 1936--d. June 23, 1997). Shanker, Albert American union official best remembered as the leader of New York City's United Federation of Teachers in 1968 during a bitter series of strikes over decentralization that became racially and religiously divisive; later, as president of the American Federation of Teachers, he was known as a champion of high standards in education (b. Sept. 14, 1928--d. Feb. 22, 1997). Shoemaker, Eugene Merle ("GENE"), American planetary geologist (b. April 28, 1928, Los Angeles, Calif.--d. July 18, 1997, Alice Springs, Australia), was hailed as one of the chief founders of planetary geology and considered by many scientists to be the consummate sky gazer of the 20th century. Throughout much of his long career, Shoemaker worked closely with his wife and colleague, Carolyn Spellman Shoemaker. Between them they identified 32 comets and 1,125 asteroids, missing by only 5 the world comet record set by 19th-century astronomer Jean-Louis Pons. Their most spectacular find, Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, was discovered with amateur astronomer David Levy. The comet dazzled the world in July 1994 as its 21 glowing fragments tore into Jupiter's southern hemisphere, the largest chunks exploding with a force comparable to several million megatons of TNT. This was not the first time that Shoemaker had made headlines. In 1948 after graduating at age 20 with a master's degree in geology from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), he surveyed craters in the landscape of the American Southwest. The young geologist rocked the scientific world in the late 1950s by supplying confirmation of the origin of Meteor Crater near Winslow, Ariz. Following his discovery of coesite, a form of silica created under the high pressure of meteoric impacts, Shoemaker theorized that the 1,200-m (4,000-ft)-wide bowl-shaped pit was formed when a meteorite crashed into the Earth's surface more than 50,000 years ago. His research lent credence to the theory that the bombardment of the Earth and other planets with celestial debris played an important role in the history of planetary evolution. He later supported the hypothesis that an object from outer space may have been responsible for the cataclysmic changes on Earth that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs and other life forms 65 million years ago. Shoemaker warned of the possibility of other such devastating encounters with the Earth and favoured the development of technology that would intercept threatening astral projectiles before impact. During his tenure with the U.S. Geological Survey from 1948 to his retirement in 1993, he established the agency's Center of Astrogeology in Flagstaff, Ariz., where he served as chief scientist. While also teaching at Caltech from 1962 to 1985, Shoemaker found time to pursue one of his lifelong interests--the geologic history of the Moon. As principal investigator for NASA's Apollo Moon project in the 1960s, he used a telescope to map lunar craters and studied rock specimens retrieved from the Moon's surface, as well as helping to train NASA astronauts in lunar geology, a discipline that he was credited with inventing. Shoemaker received the U.S. National Medal of Science in 1992. Simjian, Luther Turkish-born American inventor who held patents on more than 200 inventions, including the Teleprompter, the flight simulator, and the automated teller machine (b. 1905--d. Oct. 23, 1997). Singh, Ganesh Man Nepalese political activist who during some 50 years of struggle against Nepal's monarchy was a leader in the fight for democracy (b. November 1915--d. Sept. 18, 1997). Sinyavsky, Andrey Donatovich Russian writer and dissident (b. Oct. 8, 1925, Moscow, U.S.S.R.--d. Feb. 25, 1997, Fontenay-aux-Roses, near Paris, France), was imprisoned (1966) after having been convicted along with another writer, Yuly Daniel, of having published anti-Soviet works. His trial attracted worldwide attention and sparked a new wave of dissent nationwide. Following service in the Red Army during World War II, Sinyavsky attended Moscow M.V. Lomonov State University, graduating in 1949 and receiving a doctorate in 1952. He later joined the faculty of the A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature, Moscow, and in the early 1960s he began contributing criticism in the literary journal Novy Mir and wrote an incisive introduction to a volume of Boris Pasternak's poetry. In the late 1950s, however, writing under the pseudonym Abram Tertz, Sinyavsky began having his works smuggled to the West and published there. First was the essay "Chto takoe sotsialistichesky realizm" (On Socialist Realism, 1960). This was followed by such novels as Sud idyot (1959; The Trial Begins, 1960) and Lyubimov (1964; The Makepeace Experiment, 1965) and the short-story collection Fantasticheskiye povesti (1961; Fantastic Stories, 1963) as the literary world speculated about the true name of the author. His identity was revealed when Sinyavsky and Daniel were arrested in 1965. Sinyavsky was sentenced to seven years' hard labour and Daniel five. Sinyavsky was released after five and a half years, in 1971, and two years later moved to Paris to teach Russian literature at the Sorbonne. Soon thereafter he published Golos iz khora (1973; A Voice from the Chorus, 1976), based on letters he sent to his wife, Maria Rozanova, from the labour camp, and in 1978 he and Rozanova founded the literary journal Sintaksis. After Daniel's death in 1988, Sinyavsky made his first return visit to Moscow. Skelton, Richard Bernard ("Red") American comic actor (b. July 18, 1913, Vincennes, Ind.--d. Sept. 17, 1997, Rancho Mirage, Calif.), was a favourite clown of many generations of Americans. A rubber-faced master of the pratfall, he used his talents as a mime to create such memorable characters as Clem Kaddiddlehopper, Freddie the Freeloader, the cross-eyed seagulls Gertrude and Heathcliffe, and the Mean Widdle Kid, whose catchphrase "I dood it" was soon heard all over the country and was later (1943) the title of one of his films. Because his family was destitute, Skelton went to work when he was seven, both delivering newspapers and entertaining on the street. At 10 he joined a traveling medicine show. It was at auditions for that show, when he accidentally fell off the stage, that he discovered his talent for making people laugh by means of physical comedy. After performing on showboats, in burlesque houses, and on the vaudeville circuit, Skelton appeared (1937) on Broadway, thanks to a doughnut-dunking-and-eating pantomime routine he had developed. Radio appearances and a role in the film Having Wonderful Time (1938) followed and led to such other films as Whistling in the Dark (1941), Bathing Beauty (1944), The Fuller Brush Man (1948), Neptune's Daughter (1949), and Three Little Words (1950) and the popular radio program "Red Skelton's Scrapbook of Satire." A notable later motion picture appearance came at the beginning of Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965), his last film, in which he portrayed a Neanderthal attempting to fly. Television proved to be Skelton's best medium, however. For some 20 years in the 1950s and '60s, "The Red Skelton Hour" showcased his stable of hilarious characters and made him one of the country's most well-known and well-liked entertainers. In 1970, though, despite the fact that the show was consistently in the top 20 in the ratings, CBS canceled it, considering it irrelevant to younger audience members. It aired for one more year on NBC. Skelton then returned to performing live and made 75 or more appearances a year. He also took up the painting of clowns, earning an estimated $2.5 million a year from the sale of his creations, and wrote children's books, short stories, and symphonies. Skelton was given the Governors Award of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences at the 1986 Emmy awards ceremony and in 1989 was inducted into the academy's Hall of Fame. Skelton, Robin British-born Canadian poet, scholar, and witch who published scores of books, founded the creative writing department at the University of Victoria, B.C., cofounded the Malahat Review literary journal, and publicly promoted his belief in witchcraft (b. Oct. 12, 1925--d. Aug. 27, 1997). Smith, Julia British television producer and director who was one of the creators of the long-running BBC soap opera "EastEnders," which from its first airing in 1985 was one of the most popular television programs in Great Britain (b. June 1927--d. June 19, 1997). Snow, Helen Foster American writer who produced some 40 works, mostly about China, that were less well known than those of her husband, Edgar Snow, but came to be considered superior; she was also instrumental in the creation of industrial cooperatives known as the Gung-Ho--from the Chinese gonghe, "working together"--movement and was proud of having added that term to the American vocabulary (b. Sept. 21, 1907--d. Jan. 11, 1997). Soloukhin, Vladimir Alekseyevich Soviet writer who penned nonfiction and nostalgic novels, poetry, and short stories but was perhaps best known for his campaign to preserve prerevolutionary Russian art and architecture, most notably historic Russian Orthodox churches and icons (b. June 14, 1924--d. April 4, 1997). Solti, Sir Georg (Gyorgy Stern) Hungarian-born British conductor and pianist (b. Oct. 21, 1912, Budapest, Austria-Hungary--d. Sept. 5, 1997, Antibes, France), was the longtime music director (1969-91) of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), which he reestablished as a world-class ensemble. His conducting career began in the 1930s when he became a rehearsal leader for the Budapest State Opera, and in 1937 Arturo Toscanini gave him the same job at the Salzburg (Austria) Festival. In 1938 he made his conducting debut at the Budapest State Opera. Solti, who was Jewish, was just beginning to receive his own engagements when his career was interrupted by World War II; he spent the war in Switzerland, giving piano lessons and coaching singers. After the war the removal of Nazi-affiliated conductors from their posts created opportunities for many non-German maestros. Solti was among those to benefit, serving as the music director of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich from 1946 to 1952 and of the Frankfurt Opera from 1952 to 1961. More notable, however, was his tenure as music director of the Royal Opera at Covent Garden, London (1961-71). Solti came to international prominence as the conductor of the first complete recording of Richard Wagner's opera cycle The Ring of the Nibelung. This immense seven-year project, concluded in 1966, was considered by many to have been one of the landmark recordings of the 20th century. Solti's ambitions as an orchestral conductor were most fully realized, however, during his tenure with the CSO, which he distinguished with energy and discipline. He also held directorships with the Orchestre de Paris (1972-75) and the London Philharmonic Orchestra (1979-83). As an opera conductor he was acclaimed as a superb Wagnerian and was probably the greatest interpreter of Richard Strauss. Solti was also described as highly excitable, especially by musicians, some of whom referred to him as "the screaming skull.'' In orchestral music Solti conducted everything from Mozart to Sir Michael Tippett, but he was most at home with the mammoth late-Romantic symphonies of Anton Bruckner and Gustav Mahler. Nearly all of Solti's readings were characterized by rhythmic discipline, high energy, and dynamic impact, especially from the brass instruments. He recorded prolifically, both as a conductor and as a solo pianist, and he won more Grammy awards (32) than any other classical or pop music artist. He was knighted in 1971 but did not use the title until he took British citizenship the following year. Son Sen Cambodian Khmer Rouge official who supervised some of the worst brutality perpetrated while the radical Khmer Rouge movement held power from 1975 to 1979; factional infighting led to his execution by movement leader Pol Pot's loyalists, and Pol Pot was himself ar