Today is the 266th day of 2016 and the first day of autumn.
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TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1776, the British hanged 21-year-old teacher/soldier Nathan Hale as a spy.
In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation, making all slaves in seceding states free as of Jan. 1, 1863.
In 1975, President Gerald Ford survived a second assassination attempt in three weeks when his would-be assassin was thwarted by a bystander within a group of onlookers in San Francisco.
In 1980, Iraq invaded disputed territory in the Persian Gulf, officially beginning an eight-year war with Iran.
TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Michael Faraday (1791-1867), scientist; Charles Brenton Huggins (1901-1997), physician; Tommy Lasorda (1927- ), baseball player/manager; Eugene Roche (1928-2004), actor; David Stern (1942- ), NBA commissioner; Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr. (1951- ), publisher; Andrea Bocelli (1958- ), singer-songwriter; Joan Jett (1958- ), singer-songwriter; Scott Baio (1960- ), actor; Bonnie Hunt (1961- ), actress; Tom Felton (1987- ), actor.
TODAY'S FACT: Dr. Charles Brenton Huggins was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1966 for his discovery of the relationship between hormones and cancer, which led to advancements in chemotherapy.
TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1969, San Francisco Giants center fielder Willie Mays hit his 600th career home run in a 4-2 victory over the San Diego Padres.
TODAY'S QUOTE: "I figured out it was a social thing, what women were allowed to do. At a very young age, I decided I was not going to follow women's rules." -- Joan Jett
TODAY'S NUMBER: $990,445 -- purse (then the largest in the history of boxing) that Gene Tunney won for defending his heavyweight title against Jack Dempsey in the infamous "Long Count" bout held on this date in 1927.
TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Sept. 16) and last quarter moon (Sept. 23).