Milestones

HANNAH BEECHRESIGNED. RON DAVIES,52, popular Welsh Secretary who was tipped to lead the Welsh Assembly, after picking up a man who later mugged him at knifepoint with the help of two accomplices; in London. Davies abruptly quit the next day, saying that he had suffered a serious lapse of judgment, but speculation over what Davies was doing at a South London park known as a gay hangout outpaced New Labour's legendary spinmeisters. Davies denies that either sex or drugs were involved in the incident.ARREST ANNOUNCED.OfHUA DI,62, Chinese missile scientist, who returned home in January after nine years abroad, only to be swiftly charged with revealing state secrets; in Beijing. A research associate at Stanford University since 1989, Hua co-authored articles on China's ballistic-missile program, but American military experts contend he never divulged any classified information in his papers.AWARDED.ToIAN MCEWAN,50, sardonic English novelist, the Booker Prize; in London. Short-listed twice before for the prestigious literary award, McEwan finally won the prize with Amsterdam, a profound take on the intersection of politics and friendship.DIED. KEN EDWARDS,47, charming Australian journalist and publisher, who reported from Southeast Asia and Indochina before returning to his homeland and TIME (South Pacific), the edition of the newsmagazine he edited from 1994-97; in Sydney. A meticulous verbal architect who crafted precise, well-structured and often whimsical reports, Edwards wrote more than 30 cover stories for TIME and recently finished a satirical novel called The Golden Pig.DIED. TED HUGHES,68, reclusive British poet laureate, who earned more attention for leaving wife Sylvia Plath just months before she killed herself than he did for his powerful, evocative poetry; in Devon, England. After decades of silence on his wife's 1963 suicide, Hughes published Birthday Letters last January, addressing his turbulent marriage with the same resonant verse that in earlier poems had brought his beloved, bleak Devon countryside alive.DIED. WILHELM KARMANN,83, German auto manufacturer, who charmed 1950s car-buyers with the curvy Karmann-Ghia; in Osnabruck, Germany. Following the commercial success of the sassy vehicle, Karmann lent his creative hand to the boxy Golf Cabriolet and sleek Porsches, turning his father's horse-drawn coach factory into a $625 million-a-year auto empire.DEATH ANNOUNCED.OfJOHN DIDCOTT,67, principled South African judge, who tenaciously fought apartheid from within the system that he sought to destroy; in Durban. Originally disinclined to associate with the apartheid regime, Didcott soon found that he could soften parochial laws from his perch on the Natal Supreme Court. In 1983, he jettisoned a law that allowed those considered idle and undesirable to be jailed for up to a year. Throughout his 19-year tenure, he also steadfastly ruled against the death penalty.He was the first American to orbit the earth. Now, at 77 and in the twilight of a U.S. Senate career, has taken off again, this time aboard the shuttle Discovery, becoming the oldest man to go into space.JOHN GLENNThis was the moment... Now he was alone, flat on his back on a form-fit couch inside the instrument-packed capsule named Friendship 7. In an incredibly matter of fact voice, John Glenn began to count: 'Ten, nine, eight, seven, six...' In the next four hours and 56 minutes, John Glenn lived through and shared with millions a day of miracles. There was beauty. 'I don't know what you can say about a day in which you have seen four beautiful sunsets'... There was the wonder of weightlessness. 'This is something you could get addicted to.' [On re-entry] Glenn could not be certain that he was safe until he saw [the landing parachute open]. 'That's probably the prettiest ol' sight you ever saw in your life.'--TIME, March 2, 1962