In memoriam. John Morton Blum, a famed Yale professor in the second half of the 20th century who taught John Kerry ’66, George Bush ’68 and Henry Louis Gates ’73, has died in North Branford, Conn. He was 90. After serving in the Navy through World War II, Blum began teaching at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before coming to Yale in 1957. A former chair of the History Department, Blum wrote numerous books on topics pertaining to American politics in the 19th and 20th centuries, and a memoir, “A Life with History,” published in 2004. “John was a great citizen of Yale, a pioneer in helping us understand the meaning of equality in America, and he embodied what it means to be a historian engaged in the public world,” historian David Blight wrote in an email Monday afternoon. Read tomorrow’s News for a full obituary.

A sigh of relief for athletes. Despite threats that they would be eliminated, Brown University’s fencing, wrestling and women’s skiing teams all earned a reprieve Monday. Brown University President Ruth Simmons told the Brown Corporation that the programs should be kept if they can support themselves financially, despite recommendations from the Brown Athletics Review Committee that they be cut.

A table of one’s own. A new monument known as the “Family Table” and the “DeLauro Table” was installed Monday in Wooster Square Park. The table, which consists of four small stone sculptures arranged like a table, commemorates the work of the DeLauro family, including current U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro.

A piece of the pancake. A group of Morse students attempted to make a pancake the size of a cookie sheet in the Morse Buttery on Monday night, selling pieces of the pancake. Additionally, the Morse Buttery is now selling four cream puffs for $1.

Mmm yummy! Supporters Ward 1 aldermanic candidate Vinay Nayak ’14 gathered in Bingham Hall’s Entryway C for a “milk and cookies” study break Monday evening. It follows Nayak’s “V for Me” event on the steps of Lanman-Wright Hall in late September.

Not quite the NHPD, but Middletown Police Chief Patrick McMahon was relieved of duty by the town’s mayor on Monday. McMahon is accused of drinking alcohol on the job.

THIS DAY IN YALE HISTORY

1946 The University celebrates a return to peacetime studies by unveiling a natural history mural in the Peabody Museum. The mural’s goal is to portray the dominant forms of plant and animal life, starting with their appearance 200 million years ago. It features a number of dinosaurs.