Milestones May 22, 2006

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DIED. Lillian Gertrud Asplund, 99, last American survivor of the Titanic and the only one in the world old enough to recall the wreck; in Shrewsbury, Mass. The intensely private Asplund was 5 when the ship sank in the North Atlantic. She spoke publicly about the ordeal only once, saying she was forever haunted by the memory of her father and three of her brothers, who died, standing at the ship's railings as she, another brother and their mother were taken away in a lifeboat.

DIED. Floyd Patterson, 71, gentle and beloved legend of boxing; after years battling Alzheimer's and prostate cancer; in New Paltz, N.Y. The undersized high school dropout from Brooklyn, N.Y., won Olympic gold in 1952. Four years later, at age 21, he knocked out Archie Moore to become the world's youngest heavyweight champ--and the most conflicted. The Hall of Famer, who said he had "no self-esteem" as a kid, was so stung by a 1959 loss to Ingemar Johansson that he left the arena in disguise. Yet when he regained the title from Johansson a year later, he was disturbed by his "hate" for his rival. After retiring, he grew easier on himself. When a reporter said Patterson had been downed more than most fighters, he replied, "But I also got up the most."