protection elements appeared to be in excellent condition. The flight control team obtained satisfactory data; and the complete launch computing and display system, operating for the first time in a flight, performed satisfactorily. Mercury astronauts John Glenn, Virgil Grissom, and Alan Shepard were selected by the Space Task Group to begin special training for the first crewed Mercury flight. Born: Tadeusz Madziarczyk, Polish politician, in Prudnik, Poland Ranking Roger, English ska vocalist, as Roger Charlery, in Birmingham (d. 2019) Rhonda Sing, Canadian wrestler, in Calgary (died of a heart attack, 2001) Died: Frederick M. Jones, 68, African-American inventor specializing in refrigeration technology, co-founder of Thermo King Corporation February 22, 1961 (Wednesday) Come Blow Your Horn, the first play written by Neil Simon, made its debut at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on Broadway. Running for 677 performances, the play was the first in a string of hits for Simon. Fans of the television soap opera The Edge of Night were horrified when Sara Lane Karr, the show's leading female character, died of injuries sustained on the Monday episode. After CBS received multiple calls from distressed viewers, the actress who played the role, Teal Ames, appeared as herself the next day to explain that she was alive, and that her character had been written out of the series at her own request. Born: Clifford Meth, American writer, in Queens, New York Jean-Christophe Novelli, French celebrity chef, in Arras Died: Nick LaRocca, 71, jazz cornettist February 23, 1961 (Thursday) Duncan Carse was dropped off alone at the British Antarctic island of South Georgia, for an eighteen-month attempt to become a latter-day Robinson Crusoe. HMS Owen brought him to the uninhabited south side of the island with 12 tons of supplies and a prefabricated hut, at Ducloz Head. The hut and much of the supplies would be swept away by a wave on May 20, forcing Carse to survive on what he had been able to save. He would finally be able to signal a ship, the Petrel, on September 13. Geoffrey Charles Lawrence became acting Chief Minister of Zanzibar, which was still under British administration. As of this date, the Space Task Group, Convair-Astronautics, Space Technology Laboratories, McDonnell, and the Marshall Space Flight Center had completed a number of extensive studies on the subject of the safe separation of the Mercury spacecraft from the launch vehicle during an emergency. The following papers included