Today in History

Today is Saturday, Sept. 22, the 266th day of 2012. There are 100 days left in the year. Autumn arrives at 10:49 a.m. Eastern time.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Sept. 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, declaring all slaves in rebel states should be free as of Jan. 1, 1863.

On this date:

In 1761, Britain's King George III and his wife, Charlotte, were crowned in Westminster Abbey.

In 1776, during the Revolutionary War, Capt. Nathan Hale, 21, was hanged as a spy by the British in New York.

In 1862, King Wilhelm I of Prussia met with Otto von Bismarck, whom he decided to appoint minister president, or premier.

In 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.

In 1922, Congress passed, and President Warren Harding signed, the Cable Act, which allowed an American woman to keep her U.S. citizenship following marriage to a foreigner, provided the husband was considered eligible for American citizenship.

In 1927, Gene Tunney successfully defended his heavyweight boxing title against Jack Dempsey in the famous "long-count" fight in Chicago.

In 1938, the musical comedy revue "Hellzapoppin'," starring Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson, began a three-year run on Broadway.

In 1961, the Interstate Commerce Commission issued rules prohibiting racial discrimination on interstate buses. Actress Marion Davies died in Los Angeles at age 64.

In 1964, the musical "Fiddler on the Roof" opened on Broadway, beginning a run of 3,242 performances.

In 1975, Sara Jane Moore attempted to shoot President Gerald R. Ford outside a San Francisco hotel, but missed. (Moore served 32 years in prison before being paroled on Dec. 31, 2007.)

In 1980, the Persian Gulf conflict between Iran and Iraq erupted into full-scale war that lasted nearly eight years.

In 1982, the situation comedy "Family Ties" premiered on NBC.

Ten years ago: Thousands of Palestinians marched to protest Israel's siege of Yasser Arafat's headquarters, and Israeli soldiers opened fire on Palestinians who defied curfews. Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democrats won one of Germany's closest postwar elections. The White House drama "The West Wing" won its third consecutive Emmy as best drama series; "Friends" was honored as best comedy for the first time in its eight years on the air.

Five years ago: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke briefly with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki at the United Nations, but they did not discuss a Baghdad shootout involving guards from a U.S. company protecting American diplomats that claimed civilian lives. Marcel Marceau, the master of mime, died in Paris at age 84.

One year ago: A group of European researchers at the world's biggest physics lab in Switzerland claimed to have measured a subatomic particle, a neutrino, traveling faster than the speed of light, a finding that challenged Einstein's theory of relativity (however, the results have since been refuted by other scientists). American diplomats led a walkout at the U.N. General Assembly as Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad fiercely attacked the United States and major West European nations as "arrogant powers" ruled by greed and eager for military adventurism. Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Germany on his first state visit to his homeland.

Today's Birthdays: Baseball Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda is 85. NBA Commissioner David Stern is 70. Musician King Sunny Ade is 66. Actor Paul Le Mat is 66. Capt. Mark Phillips is 64. Rock singer David Coverdale (Deep Purple, Whitesnake) is 61. Actress Shari Belafonte is 58. Singer Debby Boone is 56. Country singer June Forester (The Forester Sisters) is 56. Singer Nick Cave is 55. Rock singer Johnette Napolitano is 55. Classical crossover singer Andrea Bocelli is 54. Singer-musician Joan Jett is 54. Actor Scott Baio is 52. Actress Catherine Oxenberg is 51. Actor Rob Stone is 50. Rock musician Matt Sharp is 43. Rock musician Dave Hernandez is 42. Rhythm-and-blues singer Big Rube (Society of Soul) is 41. Actress Mireille Enos is 37. Actor Michael Graziadei is 33. Actress Ashley Drane (Eckstein) is 31. Actor Tom Felton is 25.

Thought for Today: "I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air." -- Nathaniel Hawthorne, American author (1804-1864).

Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.