Died. Dr. Howard J. Brown, 50, New York City health official and homosexual civil rights activist; of heart disease; in Manhattan. Afraid that his name might figure in an expose of homosexuals in New York City government, Brown abruptly resigned his post as health services administrator in 1967. Six years later he publicly revealed his sexual orientation and helped form the National Gay Task Force to end discrimination against homosexuals. The organization, said Brown, "can help free the generation that comes after us from the dreadful agony of secrecy." -

Died. Eli M. Black, 53, chairman of United Brands Co., a $2 billion conglomerate; in a 44-story plunge from his office in Manhattan's Pan Am Building. An ordained rabbi before going into business, Black in 1967 acquired John Morrell & Co., an ailing $800 million meat packer, which he merged with United Fruit Co. in 1970. Throughout 1974 a series of crises bled Black's empire: hurricanes wrecked Honduran banana plantations, Central American governments imposed heavy export taxes, and the cost of feeding cattle skyrocketed. Since November, when United Brands reported losing over $40 million in the year's first three quarters, Black had worked 16-to 18-hour days. -

Died. Louis Jordan, 66, saxophonist, blues singer and bandleader, whose Tympany Five combo cut several top-selling discs in the 1940s, including Is You Is or Is You Ain 't My Baby?, Caldonia, and Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens; of a heart attack; in Los Angeles.

Died. Umm Kulthum, 76, "the Nightingale of the Nile," most beloved female singer in the Arab world; of a cerebral hemorrhage; in Cairo (see THE WORLD).

Died. Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Park, 82, commander of the Royal Air Force fighter group that fought off the German blitz on London in the summer of 1940; in Auckland, New Zealand. After the Battle of Britain, Park successfully defended Malta, then moved on to the Middle East and Southeast Asia, where he commanded the Allied air forces at war's end.

Died. William D. Coolidge, 101, scientist and inventor; in Schenectady, N.Y. After joining General Electric's pioneering research labs in 1905, Coolidge discovered the method for drawing out of tungsten the hair-thin filaments used in incandescent light bulbs, and later perfected "the Coolidge tube," which remains the basis of modern X-ray units.

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