Milestones

DIED From the moment she was born on a former revolutionary base, Shao Hua's future was enmeshed with that of the Chinese Communist Party. In 1960 she became the daughter-in-law of Chairman Mao Zedong, marrying his second son, Mao Anqing. During the 1950s, Zedong's older brother, Mao Anying, obtained for her a Soviet camera, which she used to document schools, factories and villages. She was later promoted to major general in the People's Liberation Army and became the president of the China Photographers Association in 2002. She was 69.

Lead singer for the popular gospel group the Dixie Hummingbirds for nearly seven decades, Ira Tucker captivated fans with his impassioned performances. And while Tucker could have easily transitioned to more mainstream secular music, he and his group remained devoted to gospel. In 1973 they collaborated with Paul Simon on the memorable Loves Me Like a Rock, and just last year their album Still Keeping It Real: The Last Man Standing was nominated for a Grammy. He was 83.

An aeronautics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the 1950s, Dr. Robert Seamans joined the newly formed National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1960 and played a pivotal role in the race to put a man on the moon. NASA's deputy administrator from 1965 to 1968, Seamans showed an ability to overcome technical and logistical hurdles and helped set in motion the mission that put Neil Armstrong on the lunar face in 1969. Seamans returned to MIT to head the School of Engineering, but a NASA spokesman said, "He will be remembered as one of the great pioneers and leaders of America's space program." He was 89.