TODAY IN HISTORY

1776

During the Revolutionary War, Capt. Nathan Hale, 21, was hanged as a spy by the British in New York.

1862

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

1949

The Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb.

1975

Sara Jane Moore attempted to shoot President Gerald R. Ford outside a San Francisco hotel, but missed.

1980

The Persian Gulf conflict between Iran and Iraq erupted into fullscale war.

1993

47 people were killed when an Amtrak passenger train fell off a bridge and crashed into Big Bayou Canot near Mobile, Alabama.

2014

The U.S. and five Arab nations launched airstrikes against the Islamic State group in Syria, sending waves of planes and Tomahawk cruise missiles against an array of targets.

Birthdays

Dancer/choreographer/ singer Toni Basil is 78. Singer Debby Boone is 65. Singer-musician Joan Jett is 63. Rapper Mystikal is 51. Actor Ashley Eckstein is 40. Actor Teyonah Parris is 34. Actor Juliette Goglia is 26. Actor Dalya Knapp is 11.