Milestones

DIED. William McPherson Allen, 85, former president (1945-68) and chief executive officer (1968-72) of the Boeing Co.; of complications from Alzheimer's disease; at his home in Seattle. Allen led Boeing's post-World War II re-entry into the commercial market. Perhaps his greatest coup was staking $16 million on the construction of a swept-wing prototype for a commercial jet, which later evolved into the Boeing 707.