Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe Today is Sept. 22. The British hanged the American Revolutionary War hero and patriot Nathan Hale on this day in 1776. His famous last words, although often misquoted, were: "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." Hale had been caught spying behind enemy lines for Washington's Army. Advertisement It was on this date in 1975 that self-proclaimed revolutionary Sara Jane Moore, 46, attempted to kill President Ford as he walked from a San Francisco hotel. A bullet she fired slightly wounded a man in the crowd. A few days earlier, a member of Charles Manson's "family" -- Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme - had tried to kill the prez. Her gun misfired. The U.S. nuclear monopoly ended on this date in 1949 as the Soviet Union detonated its first atomic bomb -- sparking the arms race in earnest. it was on this date in 1993 that President Clinton unveiled his much ballyhooed health-care reform package in a speech before a joint session of Congress. Hurricane Hugo slashed through Charleston and coastal South Carolina on this date in 1989 with 135-mph winds, claiming at least 28 lives. Hugo had earlier rampaged through the Caribbean, hitting Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands particularly hard. Advertisement Irving Berlin, who wrote "God Bless America," "White Christmas" and hundreds of other enduring songs, died in his sleep at his home in New York City at age 101 on this date in 1989. In 1927, Jack Dempsey muffed a chance to regain the heavyweight championship when he failed to go to a neutral corner promptly after knocking down Gene Tunney. The extra time it took to start the count gave the champ time to recover and eventually win the match. And the very first Farm Aid concert was held on this date in 1985. More than 50 rock and country stars performed for 14 hours for 78,000 rain-soaked spectators in Champaign, Ill. The event raised $9 million for debt-ridden U.S. farmers. We now return you to the present, already in progress.
