Milestones, Jul. 14, 1952

Born. To Licia Albanese, 38, Metropolitan Opera soprano, and Joseph A. Gimma, 45, Wall Street stockbroker: their first child, a son; in Manhattan. Name: Joseph Anthony Jr. Weight: 7 Ibs. 15 3/4 oz.

Died. Mauno Pekkala, 62, postwar Premier of Finland (1946-48), who negotiated the hated mutual assistance pact with the Soviet Union; of pneumonia following a stroke; in Helsinki. He won national recognition for his work as acting director (1937-44) of the state forest service, less favorable notice for his latter-day fellow-traveling with the Reds.

Died. Dr. Abraham Simon Wolf Rosenbach. 75, the world’s No. 1 rare-book dealer and one of its most avid collectors; after long illness; in Philadelphia. Called the “Napoleon of Books” by rival bibliophiles who often watched him skim off the cream of the rare-books sales, “Rosy” owned, at one time or another, a $25,000,000 collection of rare volumes. Among them: eight Gutenberg Bibles, between 30 and 40 first folios of Shakespeare, and the famous Bay Psalm Book, first book printed (1640) in Britain’s American colonies, which he bought for a “reasonable” $151,000. While still a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania, Rosy made his first big find in a Philadelphia auction room: the long-lost first edition of Dr. Johnson’s Prologue, written for Actor David Garrick. He bid it up 10 at a time until he carried it away triumphantly for $3.60, later turned down a $5,000 offer for it. Last March Rosy announced his most famous sale: 73 prized volumes of Shakespeare folios and quartos to Dr. Martin Bodmer, Swiss banker, for something over $1,000,000.

Died. Fred Tenney, 80, first baseman for the Boston Braves and New York Giants and manager (1905-07 and 1911) of the Braves, who originated the “3-6-3” double play (first base to shortstop to first) in a game against the Cincinnati club in 1897; in Boston. One of the great fielding first basemen of his day, Tenney led the National League in assists for eight years, an alltime record.

Died. Archbishop Garegin Hovsepian, 84, head of the Armenian Orthodox churches in the Near East, and former primate (1937-44) of the Armenian Church of America; in Antelias, Lebanon.

Died. The Rev. James Shera Montgomery, 89, chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives for 29 years (until 1950); in Washington, D.C. A familiar figure at congressional funerals, weddings and baptisms, he prided himself on never repeating a prayer. Before a full Easter congregation in Washington’s Calvary Methodist Episcopal Church, he once said: “I know some of you won’t be back until next Easter, so let me wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”