Today In History

Today is Wednesday, Aug. 8, the 220th day of 2018. There are 145 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

› 1974: President Richard Nixon, facing damaging new revelations in the Watergate scandal, announced he would resign the following day.

ON THIS DATE

› 1911: President William Howard Taft signed a measure raising the number of U.S. representatives from 391 to 433, effective with the next Congress, with a proviso to add two more when New Mexico and Arizona became states.

› 1942: During World War II, six Nazi saboteurs who were captured after landing in the U.S. were executed in Washington, D.C.; two others who cooperated with authorities were spared.

› 1945: President Harry S. Truman signed the U.S. instrument of ratification for the United Nations Charter.

› 1953: The United States and South Korea initialed a mutual security pact.

› 1963: Britain’s “Great Train Robbery” took place as thieves made off with 2.6 million pounds in banknotes.

› 2000: The wreckage of the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley, which sank in 1864 after attacking the Union ship Housatonic, was recovered off the South Carolina coast and returned to port.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Actress Nita Talbot is

88. Actor Dustin Hoffman is 81. Actor Keith Carradine is 69. Movie director Martin Brest is

67. Radio-TV personality Robin Quivers is 66. Percussionist Anton Fig is

65. Actor Donny Most is

65. Rock musician Dennis Drew (10,000 Maniacs) is 61. TV personality Deborah Norville is 60. Actor-singer Harry Crosby is 60. Middle distance runner Suzy Favor Hamilton is 50. Rock singer Scott Stapp is 45. Country singer Mark Wills is 45. Actor Kohl Sudduth is 44. Rock musician Tom Linton (Jimmy Eat World) is 43. Singer JC Chasez (‘N Sync) is 42. Actress Tawny Cypress is 42. Actress Lindsay Sloane is 41. Actress Countess Vaughn is 40. Actor Michael Urie is 38. Tennis player Roger Federer is

37. Actress Meagan Good is 37. Rock musician Eric Howk (Portugal. The Man) is 37. Actress Jackie Cruz (TV: “Orange is the New Black”) is 34. Pop singer Shawn Mendes is

20. Actress Bebe Wood (TV: “The Real O’Neals”) is 17.