In the case of Scotland, use of a blue background for the Saint Andrew's Cross is said to date from at least the 15th century, with the first certain illustration of a flag depicting such appearing in Sir David Lyndsay of the Mount 's Register of Scottish Arms, circa 1542.
Dennis Johnson, a brilliant defensive player who helped propel the Seattle SuperSonics and the to N.B.A. championships, died yesterday in Austin, Tex. He was 52. The cause was a heart attack, the National Basketball Association said.
On Nov. 7, 1991, Los Angeles Lakers point guard Earvin Magic Johnson shocked the world when he announced that he had contracted HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. After the press conference, the perception was that Johnson had just pronounced his own death sentence.