Milestones

By Melissa August, Harriet Barovick, Elizabeth L. Bland, Sean Gregory and Janice M. Horowitz

DIED. KATHLEEN MCGRATH, 50, retired Navy captain who was the first woman ever to command a U.S. Navy warship; of cancer; at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland. The daughter of a B-52 pilot, she rose steadily through the ranks during a 22-year naval career that culminated with her assuming command of the frigate U.S.S. Jarrett in 1998. She took the vessel and its 262-member crew on a six-month mission to the Persian Gulf in 2000 to hunt for ships smuggling Iraqi oil, leaving her husband Gregory Brandon, an ex--Navy officer, at home in San Diego with the couple's two children, who were adopted from Russia. Though long reluctant to talk of her trailblazing role, she opened up for TIME's Mark Thompson in a story that appeared in the March 27, 2000, issue.

ARRESTED. RANDY MOSS, 25, Minnesota Vikings star receiver; on misdemeanor charges; for allegedly pushing a traffic officer for half a block with his car after she tried to prevent him from making an illegal turn; in Minneapolis, Minn. Moss was fined $50,000 by the Vikings and could face up to 90 days in jail.

FIRED. JAN HENDRIK SCHON, 32, Bell Laboratories scientist; for allegedly falsifying data in 17 papers that were hailed as breakthroughs in molecular electronics and other fields of physics. Schon admitted he had "made various mistakes" but said he is "convinced" his "[experimental observations] are real."

DIED. MILES DABORD, 35, a prime suspect in the disappearance of his brother, former NBA center Bison Dele, who was last seen sailing on a yacht in the South Pacific with Dabord and two others, who are also missing; after being found in a coma from an apparent drug overdose in Tijuana, Mexico; in Chula Vista, Calif.

DIED. PATSY MINK, 74, Hawaii's irrepressibly liberal Democrat and the first Asian-American woman elected to Congress; of viral pneumonia. Mink opposed the Vietnam War and championed gender equality. After 24 years in the House, she had just sailed through a primary vote--one week before her death.

DIED. MIKE WEBSTER, 50, Hall of Fame pro-football center whose staunch play on the offensive line helped the Pittsburgh Steelers capture four Super Bowl championships in the 1970s; of a heart attack; in Pittsburgh, Pa. After he left the NFL, Webster suffered bouts of depression and memory loss, apparently brought on by repeated blows to the head during his playing years.

DIED. NILS BOHLIN, 82, Swedish seat-belt inventor, who in 1959 developed the harness that today is standard equipment; in Transas, Sweden. His safety belt supports the upper and lower parts of the body with one continuous strap fastened by a buckle placed on the side.

DIED. WILLIAM ROSENBERG, 86, founder of America's favorite guilty pleasure, Dunkin' Donuts; in Mashpee, Mass. After World War II, he began serving coffee and pastries to factory workers from a mobile canteen. The business grew into the world's largest baked-goods and coffee chain, with 5,000 outlets and more than 50 varieties of doughnuts.

DIED. JOAN LITTLEWOOD, 87, pioneering director; in London. A 5-ft. 2-in., chain-smoking agent provocateur, Littlewood staged radical theater from her Theatre Workshop in London's East End. She had hoped her plays would attract the working class, but it was chichi West Enders who became her loyal audience for such works as Brendan Behan's The Hostage and the antiwar satire Oh What a Lovely War.