On this day, Aug. 8

1814 During the War of 1812, peace talks between the United States and Britain began in Ghent, Belgium.

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.

1928 Westinghouse Corp. staged what was said to be the world’s first demonstration of “motion pictures broadcast by radio” — television — in its East Pittsburgh laboratories. The idea was worked out by Frank Conrad, assistant chief engineer at Westinghouse. 1955 Members of Local 601, CIO International Union of Electrical Workers, struck at Westinghouse Electric Corp. in protest against the company’s time-study program.

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

1978 The Parkway East was “papered” with money for the second consecutive day, with an accident littering a milelong stretch with canceled Series E government savings bonds. The day before, a collision with a messenger’s car caused scores of welfare checks to be strewn on the road.

2003 The Boston Roman Catholic archdiocese offered $55 million to settle more than 500 lawsuits stemming from alleged sex abuse by priests. (The archdiocese later settled for $85 million.) 2010 Flooding in Gansu province in China resulted in mudslides that killed more than 1,400 people.

Some items are from Stefan Lorant’s “Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City” (digital.library.pitt.edu/chronology).

— Compiled by Alyssa Brown Today’s birthdays: Actor Nita Talbot, 90. Actor Dustin Hoffman, 83. Actor Connie Stevens, 82. Country singer Phil Balsley (The Statler Brothers), 81. Actor Larry Wilcox, 73. Actor Keith Carradine, 71. Radio-TV personality Robin Quivers, 68. Actor Donny Most, 67. Rock musician The Edge (U2), 59. Rock musician Rikki Rockett (Poison),

59. Middle distance runner Suzy Favor Hamilton, 52. Rock musician Tom Linton (Jimmy Eat World), 45. Singer JC Chasez (’N Sync),

44. Singer Drew Lachey (98 Degrees), 44. Tennis player Roger Federer, 39. Rock musician Eric Howk (Portugal. The Man), 39. Britain’s Princess Beatrice of York, 32. Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo, 31. Pop singer Shawn Mendes, 22.

Thought for today: “The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.” — Sydney J. Harris, American journalist (1917-86)