OCALA, Fla. (AP) – Arthur Jones, whose invention of Nautilus exercise equipment offered a more-targeted approach to strength training and changed the idea of a workout, died Tuesday. He was 80.

Jones had been ill for several days and died of natural causes at his home, said his son, William Edgar Jones.

Nautilus came along in 1970 and soon became ubiquitous – Ronald Reagan was even said to use the equipment in the White House when he was recovering from his 1981 gunshot wound.

The invention is credited with pioneering the physical fitness movement, taking it out of the locker room and into health clubs, hotels and office buildings.

Jones was particularly proud of his latest invention – exercise machines used for rehabilitation purposes by people with spinal cord injuries and back pain, his son said.

The success of the Nautilus machines also made Jones wealthy. He bought property in Ocala and started what has become the exclusive “fly-in” community of Jumbolair Aviation Estates, now most famously the home of John Travolta.

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Julian William “Tex” Robertson

BURNET, Texas (AP) – Julian William “Tex” Robertson, a former University of Texas swim coach who learned to swim in a flooded creek and practiced in a horse trough, died Monday. He was 98.

Robertson died at his home, son Bill Robertson said.

The Sweetwater native competed at the University of Michigan in the 1930s, excelling at the 220-yard and 440-yard freestyle. He helped the Wolverines to national championships in 1934 and 1935, according to the Texas athletic department. The NCAA only recognizes titles starting in 1937.

Robertson served as the Texas men’s swimming and diving coach from 1936-1943 and from 1946-50. The Longhorns won 13 Southwest Conference championships during his career.

He founded Camp Longhorn in 1939 on the shores of Lake Inks near Burnet, about 50 miles northwest of Austin. He used Texas swimmers as his counselors.

Robertson joined the Navy in 1941, teaching survival swimming skills to new recruits in San Diego before being transferred to Fort Pierce, Fla., where he trained sailors in underwater demolition tactics.

After the war, Robertson returned to coaching at Texas before retiring in 1950, when he devoted himself to Camp Longhorn. He continued swimming into his 90s.

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Francisco Umbral

MADRID, Spain (AP) – Francisco Umbral, a prolific writer who was an acerbic observer of his contemporary Spain, died Tuesday. He was 72.

Umbral died of respiratory and heart failure, the Madrid-Monteprincipe Clinic said in a statement. He had been admitted with pneumonia earlier this month.

Umbral, whose real name was Francisco Perez Martinez, produced work ranging from essays, literary criticism and linguistics studies to biting political and social commentary in newspapers. He was known for his thick black glasses and white scarf, as well as his hard, gravelly voice.

Often described as one of the foremost writers of 20th century Spanish prose, Umbral was noted for his baroque language, sense of humor and irony.

Umbral began his career as journalist in Valladolid at the local Norte de Castilla newspaper and in 1961 returned to Madrid as a correspondent to become a reporter with Spain’s most varied and influential magazines and newspapers.

He was awarded Spain’s prestigious Prince of Asturias prize in 1996 and the Cervantes Prize in 2000.

Besides his literary work, Umbral had written a daily column in the newspaper El Mundo for the last 15 years.

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