Charles W. Mapes Jr.,78, whose hotel-casino in Reno, Nev., attracted the rich and famous during in the 1950s and 1960s, died Thursday at a San Diego hospital of complications after heart surgery.

His hotel, which closed in 1982, was the first in the country to feature gambling, dining, entertainment and luxury accommodations under one roof.

Thomas C. Cochran, 97, a former University of Pennsylvania professor regarded as a leading historian of U.S. business and economy, died of heart failure May 2 in Haverford, Pa.

Dr. Asrat Woldeyes,70, the British-educated surgeon and longtime leader of a major opposition group in Ethiopia critical of the ruling government, died Friday in Philadelphia of complications from a heart condition.

Geoffrey Wigoder, 76, veteran broadcaster, scholar and a leading editor of the Encyclopedia Judaica, died April 9 in Jerusalem of a brain hemorrhage after a fall.

Pub Date: 5/18/99