On Sept. 22, 1776, Nathan Hale was hanged as a Revolutionary War spy by the British in New York. (His last words: “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”)
In 1862 President Abraham Lincoln unveiled his Emancipation Proclamation, in which he called for freedom for slaves.
In 1927 heavyweight boxing champion Gene Tunney defeated Jack Dempsey in the famous “long-count” bout in Soldier Field.
In 1949 the Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb.
In 1964 the musical “Fiddler on the Roof” opened on Broadway. It would run 3,242 performances. Also in 1964 “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” premiered on NBC.
In 1969 Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants hit his 600th career home run during a game in San Diego.
In 1973 Henry Kissinger was sworn in as secretary of state, becoming the first naturalized citizen to hold the office.
In 1976 the U.S. Viking spacecraft discovered Mars had a polar icecap.
In 1985 dozens of rock and country artists staged FarmAid, a 14-hour concert in Champaign, to aid debt-ridden U.S. farmers.
