Milestones Jan. 1, 2000

OUSTED. HENRI KONAN BEDIE, 65, authoritarian Ivory Coast President whose antiforeign policies and corruption led to a military junta on Christmas Eve; in the first coup in the country’s 39 years of independence; in Abidjan.

RECOVERING. CROWN PRINCESS MASAKO, 36, of Japan’s imperial family; following surgery after a miscarriage; in Tokyo. The announcement last month of the Princess’s pregnancy, which could have resulted in the first direct heir to the throne since 1965, inspired a national media frenzy.

DIED. CURTIS MAYFIELD, 57, Superfly singer-songwriter who urged listeners to Keep On Pushing during the civil rights movement; from the effects of a 1990 accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down; in Roswell, Ga. (see Eulogy).

DIED. ELLIOT RICHARDSON, 79, Attorney General for Nixon who resigned rather than obey the President’s order to fire special prosecutor Archibald Cox during Watergate; from complications after a cerebral hemorrhage; in Boston.

DIED. LOUIS FERAUD, 79, French fashion designer who rocketed to fame in the 1950s when Brigitte Bardot began wearing his brightly colored sundresses; after battling Alzheimer’s disease; in Paris.

DIED. BILL BOWERMAN, 88, track coach and Nike co-founder, who sparked the ’70s jogging boom; in Fossil, Ore. In 24 years at the University of Oregon, Bowerman coached Steve Prefontaine and the 1972 Olympic team, and used his wife’s waffle iron to develop Nike’s revolutionary running sole.

DIED. CLAYTON MOORE, 85, TV’s Lone Ranger, who thrilled millions with his cry “Hi-yo, Silver! Away!”; in West Hills, Calif. After the series ended, in 1957, Moore performed as the masked man in rodeos, shopping malls and even a pizza commercial.

DIED. JIANG HUA, 93, judge who presided over the 1980 Gang of Four trial that revealed many excesses of the Cultural Revolution; in Hang-zhou, China.