ON this day, Sept. 22

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 if the states did not end the fighting and rejoin the union.

1911 Pitcher Cy Young, 44, gained his 511th and final career victory as he hurled a 1-0 shutout for the Boston Rustlers against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field.

1975 Sara Jane Moore attempted to shoot President Gerald R. Ford outside a San Francisco hotel, but missed.

1985 Rock and country music artists participated in “Farm Aid,” a concert staged in Champaign, Ill., to help the nation’s farmers.

1995 An AWACS plane carrying U.S. and Canadian military personnel crashed on takeoff from Elmendorf Air Force Base near Anchorage, Alaska, killing all 24 people aboard.

2014 The United States 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.

Today’s birthdays: Dancer/choreographer/singer Toni Basil, 80. Actor Paul Le Mat, 78. Capt. Mark Phillips, 75. Rock singer David Coverdale (Deep Purple, Whitesnake), 72. Actor Shari Belafonte, 69. Singer Debby Boone, 67. Actor Lynn Herring, 66. Classical crossover singer Andrea Bocelli, 65. Singer-musician Joan Jett, 65. Actor Scott Baio, 63. Actor Bonnie Hunt, 62. Actor Rob Stone, 61. Actor James Hillier (TV: “The Crown”), 50. Actor Daniella Alonso, 45. Actor Michael Graziadei, 44. Actor Ashley Eckstein, 42. Actor Katie Lowes, 41. Rock musician Will Farquarson (Bastille), 40. Actor Tatiana Maslany, 38.