Steve Appleton, American businessman (Micron Technology), died from a plane crash he was 51

Steven R. Appleton  was the CEO of Micron Technology, based in Boise, Idaho died from a plane crash he was 51.^[1]
Born and raised in California, Appleton attended Boise State University, where he was on the tennis team. A lifelong aviation enthusiast, he died when his single-engine plane crashed shortly after takeoff in Boise, Idaho, on February 3, 2012.

(March 31, 1960 – February 3, 2012)

Career

Appleton started his career at Micron shortly after graduation in 1983, working the night shift in production. He held a variety of positions in the company, including Wafer Fab manager, Production Manager, Director of Manufacturing, and Vice President of Manufacturing before being appointed President and COO in 1991. He was appointed to the position of CEO and Chairman of the Board in 1994, which he maintained until his untimely death when the small plane he was piloting crashed at Boise Airport in 2012. At age 34 he was the third youngest CEO in the Fortune 500.^[2]
He formerly served on the Board of Directors for SEMATECH, the Idaho State Supreme Court Advisory Council and was appointed by the Clinton Administration to serve on the National Semiconductor Technology Council. At the time of his death, he was serving on the Board of Directors for the Semiconductor Industry Association, and the Board of Directors for National Semiconductor Corporation, The U.S. Technology CEO Council and was a member of the World Semiconductor Council and the Idaho Business Council. After his death, Mark Durcan assumed Appleton's position as CEO of Micron.^[3]
Appleton was named among the worst 10 CEOs by a Forbes magazine web site in 2006, using a formula that some disputed accurately reflected performance in the very volatile market for MU's product line.^[4]
In 2011 he received the Robert Noyce Award from the Semiconductor Industry Association.^[5]

Personal life

Appleton participated in a number of sports, including professional tennis. His hobbies included scuba diving, surfing, wakeboarding, motorcycling and, more recently, off-road car racing. His aviation background included multiple ratings and professional performances at air shows in both propeller and jet-powered aircraft. He also had a black belt in taekwondo.
On the 43rd edition of the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 on 2010 Appleton finished 1st on a SCORE Class 1 buggy and 7th overall with a time of 20:32.18.^[6]

Death

On February 3, 2012, Appleton was killed while attempting an emergency landing in a Lancair IV-PT experimental-category, four-seat, turboprop airplane at the Boise Airport in Boise, Idaho, moments after taking off. He had aborted a take off a few minutes earlier for unknown reasons.^[7][8]
Prior to this, he had a serious plane crash piloting an Extra 300 in 2004 in which he sustained a punctured lung, head injuries, ruptured disk and broken bones.^[9]
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Wisława Szymborska, Polish poet, Nobel Prize in Literature (1996) died she was 88.

 Wisława Szymborska-Włodek  was a Polish poet, essayist, translator and recipient of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Literature. Born in Prowent, which has since become part of Kórnik, she later resided in Kraków until the end of her life. She was described as a "Mozart of Poetry".^[1][2] In Poland, Szymborska's books have reached sales rivaling prominent prose authors: although she once remarked in a poem, "Some Like Poetry" ("Niektórzy lubią poezję"), that no more than two out of a thousand people care for the art.^[3]
Szymborska was awarded the 1996 Nobel Prize in Literature "for poetry that with ironic precision allows the historical and biological context to come to light in fragments of human reality".^[4][5] She became better known internationally as a result of this. Her work has been translated into English and many European languages, as well as into Arabic, Hebrew, Japanese and Chinese.

(2 July 1923 – 1 February 2012)

Life

Wisława Szymborska was born on 2 July 1923 in Prowent, Poland (now part of Kórnik, Poland), the daughter of Wincenty and Anna (née Rottermund) Szymborski. Her father was at that time the steward of Count Władysław Zamoyski, a Polish patriot and charitable patron. After the death of Count Zamoyski in 1924, her family moved to Toruń, and in 1931 to Kraków, where she lived and worked until her death in early 2012.^[2]
When World War II broke out in 1939, she continued her education in underground classes. From 1943, she worked as a railroad employee and managed to avoid being deported to Germany as a forced labourer.^[2] It was during this time that her career as an artist began with illustrations for an English-language textbook. She also began writing stories and occasional poems. Beginning in 1945, she began studying Polish literature before switching to sociology at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków.^[2] There she soon became involved in the local writing scene, and met and was influenced by Czesław Miłosz. In March 1945, she published her first poem "Szukam słowa" ("Looking for words") in the daily newspaper, Dziennik Polski. Her poems continued to be published in various newspapers and periodicals for a number of years.^[2][6] In 1948, she quit her studies without a degree, due to her poor financial circumstances; the same year, she married poet Adam Włodek, whom she divorced in 1954 (they remained close until Włodek's death in 1986).^[2] Their union was childless. Around the time of her marriage she was working as a secretary for an educational biweekly magazine as well as an illustrator. Her first book was to be published in 1949, but did not pass censorship as it "did not meet socialist requirements". Like many other intellectuals in post-war Poland, however, Szymborska adhered to the People's Republic of Poland's (PRL) official ideology early in her career, signing an infamous political petition from 8 February 1953, condemning Polish priests accused of treason in a show trial.^[7][8][9] Her early work supported socialist themes, as seen in her debut collection Dlatego żyjemy (That is what we are living for), containing the poems "Lenin" and "Młodzieży budującej Nową Hutę" ("For the Youth who are building Nowa Huta"), about the construction of a Stalinist industrial town near Kraków.^[2] She became a member of the ruling Polish United Workers' Party.
Like many communist intellectuals initially close to the official party line, Szymborska gradually grew estranged from socialist ideology and renounced her earlier political work.^[2] Although she did not officially leave the party until 1966, she began to establish contacts with dissidents.^[2] As early as 1957, she befriended Jerzy Giedroyc, the editor of the influential Paris-based emigré journal Kultura, to which she also contributed. In 1964, she opposed a Communist-backed protest to The Times against independent intellectuals, demanding freedom of speech instead.^[10]
In 1953, Szymborska joined the staff of the literary review magazine Życie Literackie (Literary Life), where she continued to work until 1981 and from 1968 ran her own book review column, called Lektury Nadobowiązkowe.^[2] Many of her essays from this period were later published in book form. From 1981–83, she was an editor of the Kraków-based monthly periodical, NaGlos (OutLoud). In the 1980s, she intensified her oppositional activities, contributing to the samizdat periodical Arka under the pseudonym "Stańczykówna", as well as to the Paris-based Kultura. The final collection published while Szymborska was still alive, Dwukropek, was chosen as the best book of 2006 by readers of Poland's Gazeta Wyborcza.^[2] She also translated French literature into Polish, in particular Baroque poetry and the works of Agrippa d'Aubigné. In Germany, Szymborska was associated with her translator Karl Dedecius, who did much to popularize her works there.

Death

Wisława Szymborska died 1 February 2012 at home in Kraków, aged 88.^[11] Her personal assistant, Michał Rusinek, confirmed the information and said that she "died peacefully, in her sleep".^[1][12] She was surrounded by friends and relatives at the time.^[2] Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski described her death on Twitter as an "irreparable loss to Poland's culture".^[2]
She was working on new poetry right until her death, though she was unable to arrange her final efforts for a book in the way she would have wanted. Her last poetry was published later in 2012.^[6]

Themes

Szymborska frequently employed literary devices such as ironic precision, paradox, contradiction and understatement, to illuminate philosophical themes and obsessions. Many of her poems feature war and terrorism.^[1][2][13] It is, however, important to note the ambiguity of her poetry. Although her poetry was influenced by her experiences, it is relevant across time and culture. She wrote from unusual points of view, such as a cat in the newly empty apartment of its dead owner.^[2] Her reputation rests on a relatively small body of work, fewer than 350 poems. When asked why she had published so few poems, she said: "I have a trash can in my home".^[1]

Pop culture

Szymborska's poem "Nothing Twice" turned into a song by composer Andrzej Munkowski performed by Łucja Prus in 1965 makes her poetry known in Poland, rock singer Kora cover of "Nothing Twice" was a hit in 1994.^[2]
The poem "Love At First Sight" was used in the film Turn Left, Turn Right, starring Takeshi Kaneshiro and Gigi Leung.
Three Colors: Red, a film directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski, was inspired by Szymborska's poem, "Love At First Sight".^[2]
In her last years Szymborska collaborated with Polish jazz trompeter Tomasz Stańko who dedicated his record Wisława (ECM, 2013) to her memory - taking inspiration for the compositions from their collaboration and her poetry.^[14]

Major works

Wisława Szymborska and President Bronisław Komorowski at the Order of the White Eagle ceremony

• 1952: Dlatego żyjemy ("That's Why We Are Alive")
• 1954: Pytania zadawane sobie ("Questioning Yourself")
• 1957: Wołanie do Yeti ("Calling Out to Yeti")
• 1962: Sól ("Salt")
• 1966: 101 wierszy ("101 Poems")
• 1967: Sto pociech ("No End of Fun")
• 1967: Poezje wybrane ("Selected Poetry")
• 1972: Wszelki wypadek ("Could Have")
• 1976: Wielka liczba ("A Large Number")
• 1986: Ludzie na moście ("People on the Bridge")
• 1989: Poezje: Poems, bilingual Polish-English edition
• 1992: Lektury nadobowiązkowe ("Non-required Reading")
• 1993: Koniec i początek ("The End and the Beginning")
• 1996: Widok z ziarnkiem piasku ("View with a Grain of Sand")
• 1997: Sto wierszy – sto pociech ("100 Poems – 100 Happinesses")
• 2002: Chwila ("Moment")
• 2003: Rymowanki dla dużych dzieci ("Rhymes for Big Kids")
• 2005: Dwukropek ("Colon")
• 2009: Tutaj ("Here")
• 2012: Wystarczy ("Enough")
• 2013: Błysk rewolwru ("The Glimmer of a Revolver")

Prizes and awards

• 1954: The City of Kraków Prize for Literature
• 1963: The Polish Ministry of Culture Prize
• 1991: The Goethe Prize
• 1995: The Herder Prize
• 1995: Honorary Doctor of the Adam Mickiewicz University (Poznań)
• 1996: The Polish PEN Club prize
• 1996: Nobel Prize in Literature
• 2011: Order of the White Eagle^[1]

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David Peaston, American R&B singer, died from complications from diabetes he was 54

David Peaston  was an American R&B and gospel singer who in 1990 won a Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist , 54. He was mostly known for the singles, "Two Wrongs (Don't Make it Right)" and "Can I?", the latter of which was originally recorded by Eddie Kendricks.

(March 13, 1957 – February 1, 2012)

 

Life and career

He was a native of Saint Louis, Missouri. As a child, he attended the Pleasant Green Missionary Baptist Church along with his mother, Martha Bass, a member of The Clara Ward Singers gospel group. His sister was R&B/soul singer Fontella Bass.^[1]
After graduating he worked as a school teacher but, after being laid off in 1981, moved to New York City and begin working as a background singer on recording sessions.^[2] In the late 1980s, he won several competitions on the Showtime at the Apollo television show, winning over the audience with a powerful rendition of "God Bless the Child."^[1] He was signed by Geffen Records, and his first single, "Two Wrongs (Don't Make It Right)" rose to no. 3 on the Billboard Black Singles chart in 1989.^[3] He had further hits on the R&B chart with "Can I?" and "We're All In This Together", and released an album, Introducing...David Peaston. He also toured with Gerald Alston in Europe, and with Gladys Knight in the US, before moving to the MCA label in 1991, where he issued the album Mixed Emotions.^[4]
In 1993, he recorded a gospel album with Fontella and Martha Bass entitled Promises: A Family Portrait Of Faith. He also sang on Lester Bowie's 1982 album, The One and Only (ECM).
Peaston was later diagnosed with diabetes and had his legs amputated, forcing him to use prostheses.
In 2006, Peaston returned to music with his album, Song Book: Songs of Soul & Inspiration. The album featured eight new tracks by Peaston, as well as several of his biggest hits.
Peaston died from complications of diabetes in St. Louis, Missouri, on February 1, 2012, at the age of 54.^[5][6]

Discography

Albums

• Introducing...David Peaston (1988)
• Mixed Emotions (1991)

Singles

• "Two Wrongs (Don't Make It Right)" (1989) #3 R&B
• "Can I?" (1989) #14 R&B
• "We're All in This Together" (1990) #11 R&B, #45 Dance
• "Take Me Now" (1990) #77 R&B
• "String" (1991) #69 R&B
• "Luxury of Love" (1991) #41 R&B

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Ardath Mayhar, American author died she was 81

Ardath Frances Hurst Mayhar ( was an American writer and poet died she was 81. She began writing science fiction in 1979 after returning with her family to Texas from Oregon. She was nominated for the Mark Twain Award, and won the Balrog Award for a horror narrative poem in Masques I.
SScience Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America as an Author Emeritus.^[1][2]

he had numerous other nominations for awards in almost every fiction genre and has won many awards for poetry. In 2008 she was honored by
Mayhar has written over 60 books ranging from science fiction to horror to young adult to historical to westerns; with some work under the pseudonyms Frank Cannon, Frances Hurst, and John Killdeer.^[3][4] Joe R. Lansdale wrote simply: "Ardath Mayhar writes damn fine books!"^[5]

February 20, 1930 – February 1, 2012)

Personal life

Mayhar owned and operated The View From Orbit Bookstore in Nacogdoches, Texas, with her husband Joe until his death in the 1999.^[3] She later sold the bookstore, which served the students of Stephen F. Austin State University and people in the East Texas area, providing a wide variety of books and literature as well as Joe's computer services that would otherwise have been unavailable to this region.^[2] Until her health began failing, her reputation was such that she still spoke regularly in the area, drawing large crowds whenever she taught and spoke.

Bibliography

She is the author or co-author of:

Novels The Absolutely Perfect Horse BattleTech: The Sword and the Dagger. Blood Kin Bloody Texas Trail Exile on Vlahi Far Horizons Feud At Sweetwater Creek Golden Dream: A Fuzzy Odyssey[6] Gyldendal High Mountain Winter How the Gods Wove in Kyrannon Hunters of the Plains The Island in the Lake Khi to Freedom Lords of the Triple Moons Makra Choria Medicine Walk Monkey Station † Passage West People of the Mesa A Place of Silver Silence A Road of Stars Runes of the Lyre

Novels continued The Saga of Grittel Sundotha Seekers of Shar-Nuhn Slewfoot Sally and the Flying Mule Soul-Singer of Tyrnos Texas Gunsmoke Timber Pirates Towers of the Earth Trail of the Seahawks † The Untamed The Wall Warlock's Gift Wild Country Wilderness Rendezvous Witchfire † The World Ends in Hickory Hollow Story collections The Collected Stories of Ardath Mayhar Mean Little Old Lady at Work Dark Regions Poetry collections Journey to an Ending Reflections

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Angelo Dundee, American boxing trainer died he was 90

Angelo Dundee (born Angelo Mirena)  was an American boxing trainer and cornerman died he was 90. Best known for his work with Muhammad Ali (1960–1981), he also worked with 15 other world boxing champions, including Sugar Ray Leonard, José Nápoles, George Foreman, George Scott, Jimmy Ellis, Carmen Basilio, Luis Rodriguez and Willie Pastrano.<sup>[1]

(August 30, 1921 – February 1, 2012)</sup>

Professional career

Born in Philadelphia of Italian descent,^[2] Dundee went to New York and later to Miami where he learned many of the strategies of a boxer's cornerman while acting as a "bucket man" to the great trainers of Stillman's Gym. There, his mentors included Charlie Goldman, Ray Arcel, and Chickie Ferrera. Later, his brother Chris Dundee opened the Fifth Street Gym in Miami.
Carmen Basilio was the first world champion for whom Dundee acted as a cornerman when Basilio defeated Tony DeMarco for the world welterweight crown and later Sugar Ray Robinson for the world middleweight crown.

Career with Muhammad Ali

Dundee traveled around the world with Ali, and he was the cornerman in all but two of Ali's fights (Tunney Hunsaker in 1960 and Jimmy Ellis in 1971). Dundee trained the young Cassius Clay, as Ali was then known, in most of his early bouts, including those with Archie Moore (who had trained Clay before his partnering with Dundee) and Sonny Liston, where Clay won the Heavyweight title. Dundee continued to train Ali in all of his fights until his exile from boxing, and upon Ali's return to the sport Dundee trained him in almost all of his fights, including Ali's famed bouts with fighters such as Jerry Quarry, Oscar Bonavena, Joe Frazier, Floyd Patterson, George Foreman, Ken Norton and, later, Leon Spinks. One exception was in Ali's '71 fight with Jimmy Ellis where Dundee was in Ellis' corner. Ali knocked Ellis out in the 12th round. Dundee was accused by Foreman of loosening the ring ropes before his 1974 The Rumble in the Jungle fight with Ali to help Ali win the fight by using the rope-a-dope technique. Dundee consistently denied tampering with the ropes.^[3] In 1998, after decades, Dundee reunited with Muhammad Ali and appeared alongside him in a sentimental Super Bowl commercial.

Career with Sugar Ray Leonard

Dundee saw a future emerging star in Sugar Ray Leonard, whom he called "a smaller version of Ali". Dundee acted as cornerman for Leonard in many of his biggest fights, including those with Wilfred Benítez, Roberto Durán, Thomas Hearns and Marvin Hagler. In Leonard's first bout with Hearns, Dundee, thinking that his protégé was behind on the scorecards, quipped the now famous words, "You're blowing it, son! You're blowing it!" before the start of round 13.^[4] Leonard went on to score a fourteenth round win when the referee stopped the fight.

Other work

Dundee later teamed up with George Foreman, including his 1991 Heavyweight title fight against Evander Holyfield and his 1994 Heavyweight title win against then-undefeated Michael Moorer.
In addition, Dundee also trained such world champions as Luis Rodriguez, Willie Pastrano, Ralph Dupas, José Nápoles, Pinklon Thomas, Trevor Berbick, Jimmy Ellis, Wilfredo Gómez, Michael Nunn and Sugar Ramos, as well as other boxers such as Bill Bossio, David Estrada, Douglas Vaillant, Jimmy Lange, Tom Zbikowski and Pat O'Connor.
In 2005, Dundee was hired to train Russell Crowe for Crowe's characterization of James J. Braddock in Cinderella Man. To that end, Dundee traveled to Australia to work with the Oscar-winning actor and appeared in the film as "Angelo" the corner man.
In November 2008, he was hired as a special consultant for Oscar De La Hoya's fight with Manny Pacquiao.^[5]

Honors

Dundee was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1994.^[6]

Popular culture

Dundee was played in the movie Ali (2001) by actor Ron Silver. Dundee was also portrayed by Ernest Borgnine in the 1977 film, The Greatest.

Death

Dundee died peacefully at his home at the age of 90 on February 1, 2012, in Tampa, Florida after 5 years of Heart Disease. 3 weeks before his death, he attended Muhammed Ali's 70th birthday party in Louisville, Kentucky on January 17, 2012. He died about 3 months after boxer Joe Frazier died of liver cancer on November 7, 2011.^[7][8]

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Don Cornelius, American television host and producer (Soul Train), died when he committed suicide by gunshot he was , 75

Donald Cortez " Don" Cornelius  was an American television show host and producer who was best known as the creator of the nationally syndicated dance and music franchise Soul Train, which he hosted from 1971 until 1993 died when he committed suicide by gunshot he was , 75. Eventually Cornelius sold the show to MadVision Entertainment in 2008.

(September 27, 1936 – February 1, 2012)

Early life and career

Cornelius was born on Chicago's South Side on September 27, 1936,^[1] and raised in the Bronzeville neighborhood. Following his graduation from DuSable High School in 1954, he joined the United States Marine Corps and served 18 months in Korea. He worked at various jobs following his stint in the military, including selling tires, automobiles, and insurance, and as an officer with the Chicago Police Department.^[2] He quit his day job to take a three-month broadcasting course in 1966, despite being married with two sons and having only $400 in his bank account.^[1] In 1966, he landed a job as an announcer, news reporter and disc jockey on Chicago radio station WVON. He stood roughly 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) tall.
Cornelius joined Chicago television station WCIU-TV in 1967 and hosted a news program called A Black's View of the News. In 1970, he launched Soul Train on WCIU-TV as a daily local show. The program entered national syndication and moved to Los Angeles the following year.^[3][4][5] Eddie Kendricks, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Bobby Hutton and The Honey Comb were featured on the national debut episode.
Originally a journalist and inspired by the civil rights movement, Cornelius recognized that in the late 1960s there was no television venue in the United States for soul music. He introduced many African-American musicians to a larger audience as a result of their appearances on Soul Train, a program that was both influential among African-Americans and popular with a wider audience.^[6][7] As writer, producer, and host of Soul Train, Cornelius was instrumental in offering wider exposure to black musicians such as James Brown, Aretha Franklin, and Michael Jackson, as well as creating opportunities for talented dancers, setting a precedent for popular television dance programs.^[8] Cornelius said, "We had a show that kids gravitated to," and Spike Lee described the program as an "urban music time capsule".^[8]
With the creation of Soul Train Don was able to keep the movement going well past Martin Luther King's death. He kept the momentum going well on through the 70’s and 80’s. He gave African Americans their own show, the first of its kind. In this show he was able to show African Americans in a new light, creating a Black is Beautiful Campaign.^[9] Before he did this, African Americans were seldom seen on television. Soul Train showcased their culture and brought African American musicians and dancers to television.^[10] This show even appealed to white audiences and it got huge attention.^[11] It was one of the most groundbreaking television shows ever.^[12]

Cornelius (second from right) with The Staple Singers during production of a 1974 episode of Soul Train.

Besides his smooth and deep voice and afro (which slowly shrunk over the years as hairstyle tastes changed), Cornelius was best known for the catchphrase that he used to close the show: "... and you can bet your last money, it's all gonna be a stone gas, honey! I'm Don Cornelius, and as always in parting, we wish you love, peace and soul!" After Cornelius's departure, it was shortened to "...and as always, we wish you love, peace and soul!" and was used through the most recent new episodes in 2006. Another introductory phrase he often used was: "We got another sound comin' out of Philly that's a sho 'nough dilly".
He had a small number of film roles, most notably as record producer Moe Fuzz in 1988's Tapeheads.
The 2008 Soul Train Music Awards ceremony was not held due to the WGA strike and the end of Tribune Entertainment's complicating the process of finding a new distributor to air the ceremony and line up the stations to air it. The awards show was moved in 2009 to Viacom's Centric cable channel (formerly BET J), which now airs Soul Train in reruns.
Cornelius last appeared on the episode of the TV series Unsung featuring Full Force, which was aired two days before his death.

Arrest

On October 17, 2008, Cornelius was arrested at his Los Angeles home on Mulholland Drive on a felony domestic violence charge.^[13] He was released on bail. Cornelius appeared in court on November 14, 2008, and was charged with spousal abuse and dissuading a witness from filing a police report. Cornelius appeared in court again on December 4, 2008, and pleaded not guilty to spousal abuse and was banned from going anywhere near his estranged wife, Russian model Victoria Avila-Cornelius (Viktoria Chapman), who had filed two restraining orders against him. On March 19, 2009, he changed his plea to no contest and was placed on 36 months probation.

To see Did you know facts about Don Cornelius, click here.

Death

In the early morning hours of February 1, 2012, officers responded to a report of a shooting at 12685 Mulholland Drive and found Cornelius with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead by the Los Angeles County Assistant Chief Coroner.^[1][14] According to former Soul Train host, Shemar Moore, Cornelius may have been suffering from early onset of dementia or Alzheimer's disease and his health had been in decline.^[15][16]
An autopsy found that Cornelius had been suffering from seizures during the last 15 years of his life, a complication of a 21-hour brain operation he underwent in 1982 to correct a congenital deformity in his cerebral arteries. He admitted that he was never quite the same after that surgery and it was a factor in his decision to retire from hosting Soul Train in 1993. According to his son, he was in "extreme pain" by the end and said shortly before his death, "I don't know how much longer I can take this."^[17]

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Robert B. Cohen, American businessman, founder of Hudson News, died from progressive supranuclear palsy he was 86,

Robert Benjamin Cohen was an American businessman and founder of Hudson News, a chain of newsstands and stores located primarily in American airports and train stations.^[1][2] Cohen grew the Hudson retailer from a single location he opened in LaGuardia Airport in 1987.^[3][4] The Hudson News chain is now part of the larger Hudson Group retailer. The are approximately 600 Hudson News locations throughout the United States, as of 2012.^[2][4] Most are located in transportation hubs, including a 1,000-square-foot store in Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan.^[2]

News into the world's largest airport newsstand

(May 26, 1925 – February 1, 2012)

Biography

Early life

Cohen was born in Bayonne, New Jersey, to Isaac and Lillian Goodman Cohen on May 26, 1925.^[1] His father had previously run a newspaper delivery route and newsstand in Brooklyn, New York.^[2] In the early 1920s, Isaac Cohen founded a newspaper distributor, the Bayonne News Company.^[1][2] Robert Cohen earned his bachelor's degree from New York University (NYU) in 1947. Cohen played on the NYU Violets basketball team in college and his teammates included Dolph Schayes.^[4] In 1947, the same year that he earned his bachelor's degree, Cohen married his wife, the former Harriet Brandwein.^[1]

Newspaper and magazine distributorship

Cohen took control of his father's newspaper and magazine distribution company, the Hudson County News Company, shortly after graduation from NYU.^[1][3][4]
Cohen focused much of his career (prior to founding Hudson News) on the expansion of his newspaper distribution business, Hudson County News Company, into one of the largest of its kind in the United States.^[2] He served as president of Hudson County News Company. By the 1970s and 1980s, Cohen had grown the business into one of the largest magazine distributorships and wholesalers in the United States, focusing on the Boston and New York City metropolitan areas.^[1][2][3][4]
Cohen found himself in legal trouble for business practices during the early 1980s. In 1981, Cohen pleaded guilty in federal court to paying Newspaper and Mail Deliverers Union officials $37,000 in exchange for favorable treatment in dealings between the union and his companies.^[2] He was fined $150,000 as part of the guilty plea.^[2]
Cohen acquired the Metropolitan News Company, the regional distributor of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal in 1985 in a partnership with The New York Times.^[1][2][3] Cohen also acquired Newark Newsdealers which, again, was part of a partnership with The New York Times Company.^[2] Robert Cohen sold his interest of the distributorship and his companies to the The New York Times Company in 1994.^[1]
Cohen owned Worldwide Media Service Inc., which is the largest newsstand distributor of American magazines outside of the United States, from 1985 until 2003.^[3]

Hudson News

A Hudson News store.

During the mid-1970s, Robert Cohen's Hudson County News Company acquired a bankrupt newsstand at Newark International Airport, which marked his entrance into the retail sector.^[2] The newsstand had purchased magazines from Cohen's Hudson County News Company before it went into bankruptcy.^[4] The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates Newark International Airport and other transit hubs in the New York City area, asked Cohen to take control of the airport newsstand when it closed.^[4]
At the time of the purchase in the 1970s, airport newsstands were described as very small, usually carrying only a limited selection of newspapers, magazines and other periodicals.^[2] Cohen envisioned a larger, more modern, well lit news stores to replace the tiny, dim newsstands and kiosks. In 1987, Cohen opened the first Hudson News store in LaGuardia Airport in New York City.^[2][3] Hudson News stores featured a wide selection of hundreds of domestic and foreign publications, whose covers were fully displayed, allowing costumers to easily browse the selection.^[2][4] The stores featured bright, inviting lighting and wide isles, in contrast to other, cramped airport newsstands. Cohen called the layout for his new Hudson News store a "new-concept newsstand."^[4] The La Guardia location became the model for future Hudson News locations.^[2]
Robert Cohen's son, James Cohen, succeeded his father as the president of the Hudson Group, which operates Hudson News.^[2] In 2008, Robert Cohen sold his majority stake in Hudson News to Dufry of Switzerland, one of the largest operators of duty-free stores in the world.^[2][4]

Personal life

Outside of business, Cohen took a keen interest in racehorses. His best known horse, Hudson County, finished second in the Kentucky Derby in 1974, just behind race winner, Cannonade.^[1] Cohen had paid $6,700 for Hudson County before the Derby.^[2]
Robert Cohen died at the age of 86 at his home in Palm Beach, Florida, on February 1, 2012, of progressive supranuclear palsy, a neurological disorder.^[2] He was survived by his wife, Harriet; son, James; six grandchildren; and his sister, Rosalind Stone. He was predeceased by two children, gossip columnist Claudia Cohen and Michael Cohen, who died in 1997.^[1][2] A memorial service was held at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood, New Jersey, where he and his family were longtime residents.^[3]

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