1904: Chekhov's play The Cherry Orchard opens. Chekhov, age 44, dies later in the year.

2000: The popularity of Chekhov's stories and plays continues unabated. The Roundabout Theatre Company in New York City stages a successful revival of Chekhov's play, Uncle Vanya.

1896: The life expectancy for Russian males is only 32 years as compared with 47 years in France and the United States.

1987: The life expectancy for Russian males is almost 65 years, its greatest value on record.

2000: Drug abuse and sexually-transmitted diseases are potent new factors in declining life expectancy for Russian males, whose life expectancy has plunged to less than 59 years.

1895: Rest and diet is the most commonly prescribed treatment for tuberculosis (TB).

2000: Worldwide, TB remains a killer. Even though most strains of TB respond well to antibiotics and despite the fact that a vaccine has been available since the twenties, TB is responsible for 5 percent of all...