What was going on when I was born?

THE bacteria called gonococci are among the most feared agents of human infection. They cause gonorrhea and, through that sexually transmitted disease, produce an immense amount of human misery including pain, social stigma, sterility in men, infertility and other serious gynecologic problems in women, and sometimes permanent harm to newborn infants. Scientists have been trying to develop a vaccine against the gonococcus for at least a quarter of century, and today the work is at a more advanced stage than ever before. Research at many medical centers has produced a great deal of new information on the nature and behavior of these bacteria.

JOYCE R. COPPIN, a school district superintendent in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, where she began teaching 27 years ago in an elementary school, recently ran into one of her former pupils while visiting a school. ''He told me he had just brought his granddaughter to school,'' Mrs. Coppin said of the man, now in his middle 30's. ''Not his daughter, but his granddaughter.'' The obstacles to education in an impoverished area like Bedford-Stuyvesant were symbolized for Mrs. Coppin by that encounter. The cycle of teen- age parenthood and the lack of support for children that often accompanies it have led many educators to conclude that the best way to help these children learn is to teach them to take a major share of the responsibility for their own educations.

All tariffs between the United States and Israel would be eliminated within 10 years under an agreement the two countries have just concluded - the first free-trade pact that Washington has reached with any country, Administration trade officials said today. President Reagan will formally submit the accord to Congress on Tuesday, and most legislative analysts expect relatively easy and quick approval - before the summer. Israel sought the agreement as a means to spur economic development and to cement both economic and political ties with Washington. A Further Refinement For the United States it represents a further refinement of the use of trade to help countries that it considers strategically, and politically, important.

Textron Inc. today put up for sale its Bell Helicopter subsidiary, a mainstay of the conglomerate for two decades. B.F. Dolan, president of Textron, which is based in Providence, R.I., said the offer was part of an effort to raise $1 billion from divestitures to reduce debt incurred in the $1.4 billion purchase in January of the Avco Corporation, a major supplier to the military, based in Greenwich, Conn. ''Bell Helicopter has long been an integral part of Textron, and this has been a difficult decision to make,'' Mr. Dolan said. ''We have decided to pursue the sale of Bell because the sale would generate significant cash for debt reduction.''

An obituary yesterday of Sarah G. Blanding, a former president of Vassar College, incorrectly identified the British economist Harold J. Laski, with whom she studied. Mr. Laski was an assistant to Clement R. Attlee when Mr. Attlee (not Mr. Laski) was Winston S. Churchill's Deputy Prime Minister, from 1942 to 1945.

A fire set by arsonists virtually destroyed a 52-room mansion here that had been purchased last year by Ivan Lendl, the professional tennis player, the authorities said today. The officials said they had no suspects in the case. The fire occurred early Sunday at Mr. Lendl's estate in Conyers Farm, a new subdivision. The subdivision, on 1,478 acres of secluded woods, horse farms and ponds, straddles the border between the Town of Greenwich and the Town of North Castle in New York.

The state and the city issued reports yesterday sharply criticizing the management of the New York City Medical Examiner's office for what the state report called ''serious shortcomings in virtually all critical areas of its operation.'' The city report, prepared for Mayor Koch, placed blame for ''serious administrative problems'' on the Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Elliot M. Gross, and his ''desire to achieve total independence from the Department of Health.'' The state report, prepared for Governor Cuomo by the State Health Commissioner, David Axelrod, said that the office was ''failing to fulfill its basic public-service mission'' and that its shortcomings cast doubt on its ''ability to contribute credibly and effectively to the criminal justice system.'' The report recommended that the state establish a mechanism for supervising local medical examiners and coroners. Response From Dr. Gross Dr. Gross, at a news conference, responded that the reports were ''extraordinarily unbalanced'' and said he continued ''to have faith that the Mayor and the public will take a more balanced view of the situation.''

A huge explosion thought to have been caused by a bomb destroyed a Shiite mosque in Israeli-occupied southern Lebanon today, killing at least 15 people, the police reported. The police said at least 55 people were hurt in the explosion, which occurred in the Shiite village of Marakah, eight miles east of the port city of Tyre. The region has been a center of armed resistance to the Israeli occupation. Two local local militia leaders were reported among those killed.

Two companies controlled by Victor Posner, the Miami financier, reported financial troubles yesterday. The Sharon Steel Corporation, of which Mr. Posner is chairman and chief executive officer, said it did not make a $23 million interest payment due last Friday on its 13 1/2 percent debentures. And the Evans Products Company said it might be forced to file for protection under the Federal Bankruptcy Act if it could not agree with creditors on repaying $600 million in debt that came due Jan. 15. Evans is a building supply and transportation service concern in which Sharon Steel has a 43.2 percent stake.

W. Paul Thayer, former Deputy Secretary of Defense, pleaded guilty in Federal District Court here today to obstructing justice by giving false testimony to the Securities and Exchange Commission while it was investigating whether he had engaged in illegal insider stock trading. Mr. Thayer, who resigned from the Pentagon last year, was charged in the criminal case this morning, along with Billy Bob Harris, a Dallas stockbroker and Mr. Thayer's friend. They both waived their rights to indictment and trial by jury in order to enter immediate guilty pleas. All Liability Resolved United States Attorney Joseph diGenova said today's action resolved all potential criminal liability for both men, except for any action that the Internal Revenue Service might bring.

TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 1985 Companies Carl C. Icahn ended his $8.1 billion takeover bid for Phillips just one day after the petroleum company improved the terms of a plan to buy back a substantial number of its shares. The new offer will provide Mr. Icahn, who owns 5 percent of Phillips's stock, with a profit of $50 million. Phillips, for its part, secured its independence, but at the cost of adding on huge debt. (Page A1.) E.S.M. Government Securities, a Florida firm, was closed by the Government, which accused it of fraud and estimated that its activities would cost investors between $250 million and $300 million. The victims include savings and loan associations. (D1.)

''The mass transit Federal subsidy is another head shaker. In Miami, the $1 billion subsidy helped build a system that serves less than 10,000 daily riders.