Divorced. Rex Harrison, 67, paradigmatic English sophisticate of stage and screen; and his fifth wife, Elizabeth Harris, 39, daughter of Liberal peer Lord Ogmore; in an uncontested proceeding; in London. Harris recently told reporters that "Rex is the only man in the world who would disdainfully send back the wine in his own home."

Died. Maurice Edelman, 64, cosmopolitan British author and Labor M.P. who represented Coventry for over a quarter-century, while writing a succession of well-received political novels and plays (A Call on Kuprin, The Prime Minister's Daughter).

Died. General Earle G. Wheeler, 67, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1964 to 1970; of heart disease; in Frederick, Md. Wheeler in 1960 so impressed Candidate John Kennedy with his military briefings, that J.F.K. appointed him Army Chief of Staff. In 1964, President Johnson raised Wheeler to the military's highest post. As Chairman of the J.C.s, Wheeler helped plan and administer the U.S. war effort in Viet Nam and was one of the key figures involved in devising cover stories to conceal President Nixon's orders for the secret bombing of Cambodia in 1969-70.

Died. Theodosius Dobzhansky, 75, Russian-born geneticist whose work at U.S. universities and research institutes earned world acclaim; of a heart attack; in Davis, Calif. Dobzhansky, who came to the U.S. as a student and chose to remain when the spurious environmental doctrines of Stalin's pet geneticist, T.D. Lysenko, became Communist dogma, was best known for works such as Genetic Diversity and Human Equality and Heredity and the Nature of Man.

Died. Arthur Treacher, 81, English-born actor and archetype of the snooty butler; of heart disease; in Manhasset, N.Y. Treacher's first stage roles ranged from chorus boy to tragedian, but by the mid-'30s Hollywood had irrevocably type-cast him. While playing a conventionally polite butler in 1933, Treacher caught a director's attention with his acidly arch remarks. The character was hastily changed, and from then on, in dozens of movies, stage roles, and TV shows, Treacher perfected the persona of a cranky, bored, snobbishly insubordinate manservant.

Died. Noble Sissle, 86, bandleader-lyricist who teamed with Songwriter Eubie Blake to produce Shuffle Along and Chocolate Dandies, Broadway revues that popularized such 1920s Sissle hits as I'm Just Wild About Harry and Love Will Find a Way; in Tampa, Fla.

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