<Tr> <Th> Alma mater </Th> <Td> Yale College </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Signature </Th> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <P> Nathan Hale (June 6, 1755--September 22, 1776) was an American soldier and spy for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War . He volunteered for an intelligence - gathering mission in New York City but was captured by the British and executed . Hale has long been considered an American hero and, in 1985, he was officially designated the state hero of Connecticut . </P> <P> Nathan Hale was born in Coventry, Connecticut, in 1755 to Richard Hale and Elizabeth Strong . In 1768, when he was fourteen years old, he was sent with his brother Enoch, who was sixteen, to Yale College . Nathan was a classmate of fellow patriot spy Benjamin Tallmadge . The Hale brothers belonged to the Linonian Society of Yale, which debated topics in astronomy, mathematics, literature, and the ethics of slavery . Nathan graduated with first - class honors in 1773 at age 18 and became a teacher, first in East Haddam and later in New London . </P>

Who was executed by the british for being an american spy during the revolution