Sir Laurence Kirwan,91, an archaeologist and former director of the British Royal Geographical Society, died April 16 in London. He was noted for excavating royal tombs in the Sudanese desert dating from the fourth and fifth centuries A.D., promoting the exploration of Antarctica, and helping to plan and finance the first successful ascent of Mount Everest.

Alexander Alexay,97, a pianist who worked for many years with composer Sigmund Romberg, died Tuesday in New York.

Munir Ahmad Khan,72, an administrator of Pakistan's nuclear energy programs when Pakistan was developing a nuclear weapon, died Thursday in Vienna, Austria, of complications after heart surgery.

Robert James Johnston, 80, a naval engineer who designed hydrofoils and other high-speed watercraft, died April 16 at his home in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Pub Date: 4/26/99