September 22 Birthday
On September 22, 1776, Nathan Hale was hanged by the British as a spy. He was twenty-one, a Yale graduate, and a captain in the Continental Army. He had volunteered to gather intelligence behind British lines in New York. He was captured on September 21. His last words — "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country" — were paraphrased from a popular play and may have been embellished by a British officer. The Connecticut state motto is "He who transplanted still sustains," but Hale's words are more widely quoted. Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862, five days after Antietam. The proclamation warned that all enslaved people in Confederate territory would be freed on January 1, 1863, unless the rebellion ended. It did not free enslaved people in the border states that remained loyal. Lincoln said: "If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that.". People born on September 22 fall under the zodiac sign of Virgo. The birthstone is Sapphire and the birth flower is Aster. Historical events on September 22 include 1776: Nathan Hale executed by British ("I only regret that I have but one life..."), 1862: Lincoln issues preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, 1980: Iraq invades Iran, starting Iran-Iraq War (one million dead). Famous people born on September 22 include Michael Faraday (1791), Tommy Lasorda (1927), Scott Baio (1961).