UPI Almanac for Friday, Sept. 22, 2017

Today is Friday, Sept. 22, the 265th day of 2017 with 100 to follow.

This is the first day of autumn.

The moon is waxing. Morning stars are Mars, Mercury and Venus. Evening stars are Jupiter and Saturn.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include English chemist/physicist Michael Faraday in 1791; actor Allan "Rocky" Lane, B-movie cowboy star/TV voice of Mr. Ed, in 1909; co-founder of Amnesty International Eric Baker in 1920; baseball Hall of Fame member Bob Lemon in 1920; baseball Hall of Fame member Tommy Lasorda in 1927 (age 90); boxing champion Ingemar Johansson in 1932; basketball Hall of Fame member Lute Olson in 1934 (age 83); former NBA Commissioner David Stern in 1942 (age 75); singer Toni Basil in 1943 (age 74); actor Paul Le Mat in 1945 (age 72); singer Debby Boone in 1956 (age 61); singer Nick Cave in 1957 (age 60); singer Joan Jett in 1958 (age 59); tenor Andrea Bocelli in 1958 (age 59); television commentator Neil Cavuto in 1958 (age 59); actor Scott Baio in 1960 (age 57); actor Bonnie Hunt in 1961 (age 56); actor Catherine Oxenberg in 1961 (age 56); actor Billie Piper in 1982 (age 35); actor Tatiana Maslany in 1985 (age 32); actor Tom Felton in 1987 (age 30).

On this date in history:

In 1776, the British hanged American Revolutionary War hero and patriot Nathan Hale. His famous last words were, "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."

In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing some 3 million slaves.

In 1888, National Geographic began publishing.

In 1927, Jack Dempsey muffed a chance to regain the heavyweight championship when he knocked down Gene Tunney but failed to go to a neutral corner promptly, thereby delaying the referee's count and giving the champ time to get up.

In 1949, the U.S. nuclear monopoly ended when the Soviet Union detonated its first atomic bomb.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy signed a law giving the Peace Corps permanent status. He hailed it as a way for Americans to work for world peace and understanding.

In 1975, U.S. President Gerald Ford escaped a second assassination attempt in 17 days, this one by self-proclaimed revolutionary Sara Jane Moore, who tried to shoot him as he walked from a San Francisco hotel. Her shot, deflected by ex-Marine Oliver Sipple, a bystander who grabbed her arm, slightly wounded a man in the crowd. Moore served 32 years of a life prison sentence. She was released in 2007 at the age of 77. Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, convicted in a Sept. 5, 1975, assassination attempt in Sacramento, was paroled in 2009, at age 60, after 34 years in prison.

In 1980, long-standing border disputes and political turmoil in Iran prompted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to launch an invasion of Iran's oil-producing province of Khuzestan, touching off an eight-year war.

In 1985, more than 50 rock and country stars, headed by Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp, staged the 14-hour Farm Aid concert for 78,000 rain-soaked spectators in Champaign, Ill., raising $10 million for debt-ridden U.S. farmers.

In 1989, Irving Berlin, whose long list of enduring songs include "God Bless America" and "White Christmas," died in his sleep at his home in New York City at the age of 101.

In 2005, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee voted 13-5 to recommend the nomination of John Roberts as chief justice of the United States, succeeding the late William Rehnquist. A week later, the full Senate confirmed the nomination.

In 2008, officials at China's health ministry said nearly 53,000 children, most of them younger than 2 years old, had been sickened by milk powder tainted with an industrial chemical. At least four children died. Ten Asian and African nations, including Japan, temporarily banned Chinese dairy products.

In 2010, a Miami appeals court affirmed the adoption of two foster children by a gay couple, ruling Florida's ban on same-sex adoption was unconstitutional.

In 2012, Washington state health authorities said they had shipped more than 20,000 face masks to several counties where smoke from wildfires made breathing difficult.

In 2013, a Chinese People's Court announced that former political star Bo Xilai was sentenced to life in prison for bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power. Bo had been a leading figure in the Chinese Communist Party.

A thought for the day: "The problem is that the people with the most ridiculous ideas are always the people who are most certain of them." -- Bill Maher