MILESTONES

CHARGED. WOLE SOYINKA, 62, Nigerian exile and the 1986 Nobel laureate for literature; with treason by his country's military dictatorship; near Lagos, Nigeria. The regime claims that Soyinka and 11 other dissidents were involved in a series of bombings of army sites. Soyinka fled Nigeria in 1994 and resides in various Western countries.

DIED. THE REV. MAC CHARLES JONES, 47, Baptist minister and bold architect of the National Council of Churches' efforts to investigate the burning of rural black churches throughout the South and awaken public outrage at the arson; of a blood clot; in Dallas.

DIED. LAVERN BAKER, 67, 1950s rhythm-and-blues diva; from complications of diabetes; in New York City. During the early rock-'n'-roll era, white performers found success by making cover versions of such hits of hers as 1954's Teedlee Dee, but Baker got belated revenge when she was inducted into rock's Hall of Fame in 1991.

DIED. COLONEL JOHN R. BOYD, 70, military theorist; of cancer; in West Palm Beach, Florida. The Air Force pilot's discovery that a plane's agility, not its speed, was a key factor in aerial combat shaped the quick-response design of the F-16.

DIED. STAN DRAKE, 75, cartoonist; in Norwalk, Connecticut. After working for an ad agency, he turned to illustrating and in 1953 created the sentimental romantic strip The Heart of Juliet Jones. At one time, 600 newspapers carried the award-winning strip. Beginning in 1989, Drake illustrated the domestic adventures of Blondie.

DIED. CHUCK GREEN, 78, peerless tap dancer; in Oakland, California. Since the 1940s, the tall, genial Green spoke eloquently with his flashing footwork. Starting out in vaudeville as a child, he kept on performing well into the '90s, appearing on Broadway. Within the closely knit tap world, he was cherished as one of the greatest of the old-time hoofers.

DIED. HUGO WEISGALL, 84, composer and teacher; in Manhasset, New York. The Czech-born son of a cantor emigrated to the U.S. in 1920 and became a tireless champion of American music. Setting moral dramas by Strindberg (The Stronger) and Pirandello (Six Characters in Search of an Author) in English with a distinctive vocal line, he was one of the country's most influential composers.

DIED. ALFRED SHEINWOLD, 85, contact-bridge guru; in Sherman Oaks, California. The 13 books and syndicated column he turned out for three decades initiated millions into the deeper mysteries of tricks, trumps and bids.

DIED. FRED ZINNEMANN, 89, three-time Oscar-winning director; in London. From 1950s screen classics High Noon and From Here to Eternity through A Man for All Seasons in 1966, he demonstrated an abiding concern with the battle between good and evil, as well as a mastery of eliciting sensitive, finely etched performances from actors.