WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

Nathan Hale
    n 1: a soldier of the American Revolution who was hanged as a
         spy by the British; his last words were supposed to have
         been `I only regret that I have but one life to give for my
         country' (1755-1776) [syn: Hale, Nathan Hale]

The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003):

Nathan Hale
 n.

    An asterisk (see also splat, ASCII). Oh, you want an etymology?
    Notionally, from ?I regret that I have only one asterisk for my country!?,
    a misquote of the famous remark uttered by Nathan Hale just before he was
    hanged. Hale was a (failed) spy for the rebels in the American War of
    Independence.


The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):

Nathan Hale

    An asterisk ("*", see also splat, ASCII).
   Notionally, from "I regret that I have only one asterisk for
   my country!" ("life to give" -> "ass to risk" -> "asterisk"),
   a misquote of the famous remark uttered by Nathan Hale just
   before he was hanged.  Hale was a (failed) spy for the rebels
   in the American War of Independence.

   [Jargon File]

   (1996-09-22)