This day in history

[September 22, 2009]  (AP)  Today is Tuesday, Sept. 22, the 265th day of 2009. There are 100 days left in the year. Autumn arrives at 5:18 p.m. Eastern time.

Today's highlight in history:

On Sept. 22, 1776, during the Revolutionary War, Capt. Nathan Hale, 21, was hanged as a spy by the British in New York.

On this date:

In 1656, in colonial Maryland, an all-female jury heard the case of Judith Catchpole, an indentured servant who was accused of killing her newborn baby during a voyage from England. (The jury, which believed Catchpole's assertion that she hadn't even been pregnant, acquitted her.)

In 1761, Britain's King George III and his wife, Charlotte, were crowned in Westminster Abbey.

In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, declaring all slaves in rebel states should be free as of Jan. 1, 1863.

In 1927, Gene Tunney successfully defended his heavyweight boxing title against Jack Dempsey in the famous "long-count" fight in Chicago.

In 1938, the musical comedy revue "Hellzapoppin'," starring Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson, began a three-year run on Broadway.

In 1959, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev arrived in Iowa for a two-day stopover, during which he visited a corn farm, held talks with former Illinois Gov. Adlai Stevenson, and ate his first hot dog.

In 1964, the musical "Fiddler on the Roof" opened on Broadway, beginning a run of 3,242 performances.

In 1975, Sara Jane Moore attempted to shoot President Gerald R. Ford outside a San Francisco hotel, but missed. (Moore served 32 years in prison before being paroled on Dec. 31, 2007.)

In 1980, the Persian Gulf conflict between Iran and Iraq erupted into full-scale war that lasted nearly eight years.

In 1989, songwriter Irving Berlin died in New York City at age 101.

Ten years ago: The Justice Department sued the tobacco industry, accusing companies of conspiring since the 1950s to defraud and mislead the public. (In 2006, U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler ruled the nation's top cigarette makers did conspire to mislead the public about the health hazards and addictive nature of smoking, but rejected making tobacco companies pay billions of dollars; the case continues to be litigated.) Actor George C. Scott died in Westlake Village, Calif., at age 71. Shania Twain won best entertainer while the Dixie Chicks picked up three trophies, including best vocal group, at the CMA Awards.

Five years ago: British hostage Kenneth Bigley, 62, appeared on a video posted on an Islamic Web site weeping and pleading for his life. (Bigley was later beheaded by his captors.) In Haiti, the death toll from Tropical Storm Jeanne topped 1,000. CBS-owned stations were fined $550,000 by the FCC for Janet Jackson's exposed right breast during the Super Bowl halftime show. (The case is still under legal review.) "Lost" premiered on ABC.

One year ago: Jury selection began in Washington for the federal corruption trial of Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska. (Jurors later found that Stevens had lied on Senate financial disclosure forms to conceal hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts and home renovations from a wealthy oil contractor, but the Justice Department later moved to dismiss the indictment because prosecutors had mishandled the case; Stevens lost his re-election bid.) Marjorie Knoller, whose dogs viciously attacked and killed her neighbor, Dianne Whipple, in their San Francisco apartment building in 2001, was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison after her second-degree murder conviction was reinstated. The U.S. Mint unveiled the first changes to the penny in 50 years, with Abraham Lincoln's portrait still on the obverse side, but new designs replacing the Lincoln Memorial on the reverse side.

Today's birthdays: Baseball Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda is 82. NBA commissioner David Stern is 67. Musician King Sunny Ade is 63. Actor Paul Le Mat is 63. Retired Capt. Mark Phillips is 61. Rock singer David Coverdale (Deep Purple, Whitesnake) is 58. Actress Shari Belafonte is 55. Singer Debby Boone is 53. Country singer June Forester (The Forester Sisters) is 53. Singer Nick Cave is 52. Rock singer Johnette Napolitano is 52. Opera singer Andrea Bocelli is 51. Singer-musician Joan Jett is 51. Actress Catherine Oxenberg is 48. Actor Scott Baio is 48. Actor Rob Stone is 47. Rock musician Matt Sharp is 40. Rock musician Dave Hernandez (The Shins) is 39. R&B singer Big Rube (Society of Soul) is 38. Actress Mireille Enos is 34. Actress Ashley Drane (Eckstein) is 28. Actor Tom Felton is 22.

Thought for today: "Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile." -- William Cullen Bryant, American poet (1794-1878)

[Associated Press]

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