Divorced. Wispy British Actress Sarah Miles (Ryan's Daughter), 31, and Playwright-Screenwriter Robert Bolt (A Man for All Seasons), 51; after eight years of marriage and one son; in London.

Died. John J. Rooney, 71, once one of the ruling powers in Congress as chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee for the State, Commerce and Justice Departments and the Judiciary; after surgery at Georgetown University Hospital; in Washington, D.C. The blunt-speaking, tightfisted Brooklynite, who served in the House of Representatives from 1944 until his retirement last year, was famous for his sardonic attacks on State Department expense accounts, which he dubbed "booze allowances for cookie pushers."

Died. Georges Carpentier, 81, light-heavyweight boxing champion from 1920 to 1922, who lost on a fourth-round knockout to Heavyweight Jack Dempsey in 1921 's "Battle of the Century" in Jersey City, boxing's first million-dollar gate; of a heart attack; in Paris.

Died. Reuben H. Fleet, 88, aviation pioneer who in 1918 ran the Army's first airmail service between New York and Washington, and in 1923 founded the forerunner of Consolidated-Vultee Aircraft Corp., which built B-24 bombers used during World War II; of injuries from a fall; in San Diego. -

Died. Rex Todhunter Stout, 88, premier American whodunit writer, whose corpulent orchidologist-detective, Nero Wolfe, with the help of his faithful legman Archie Goodwin, solved crimes in 46 books that were translated into 22 languages and sold more than 45 million copies; at his home in Danbury, Conn. As sinewy and energetic as his protagonist was fat and lethargic, Stout would work out the story line for such mystery novels as The Doorbell Rang and Too Many Cooks while puttering about his daily cooking or gardening chores, then sit down and type out a complete mystery in 38 days of writing. Stout's agoraphobic master sleuth, who made his first appearance in Fer-de-Lance (1934), was an intuitive armchair detective in the manner of Sherlock Holmes. Wolfean devotees have contended that their hero's infinite array of adroit solutions stemmed from his creator's multifaceted life. A youthful mathematical prodigy, Stout was a prolific freelancer, an ardent champion of political causes and a jack-of-most-trades who at various times trained jumping pigs and sold cigars. Nero Wolfe's last case, A Family Affair (TIME, Nov. 3), was published only weeks before Stout's death.