Today in History

Today is Tuesday, Nov. 14, the 318th day of 2017. There are 47 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 14, 1889, inspired by the Jules Verne novel "Around the World in Eighty Days," New York World reporter Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane) set out to make the trip in less time than the fictional Phileas Fogg. (She completed the journey in 72 days.)

On this date:

In 1851, Herman Melville's novel "Moby-Dick; Or, The Whale" was published in the United States, almost a month after being released in Britain.

In 1910, Eugene B. Ely became the first aviator to take off from a ship as his Curtiss pusher rolled off a sloping platform on the deck of the scout cruiser USS Birmingham off Hampton Roads, Virginia.

In 1925, the first group exhibition of surrealistic paintings opened at the Galerie Pierre in Paris.

In 1940, during World War II, German planes destroyed most of the English town of Coventry.

In 1944, Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra recorded "Opus No. 1" for RCA Victor.

In 1954, the president of Egypt, Muhammad Naguib, was deposed by the Revolutionary Command Council, leaving Gamal Abdel Nasser fully in charge as acting head of state.

In 1965, the U.S. Army's first major military operation of the Vietnam War began with the start of the fiveday Battle of Ia Drang. (The fighting between American troops and North Vietnamese forces ended on Nov. 18 with both sides claiming victory.)

In 1969, Apollo 12 blasted off for the moon.

In 1970, a chartered Southern Airways DC-9 crashed while trying to land in West Virginia, killing all 75 people on board, including the Marshall University football team and its coaching staff.

In 1986, the Securities and Exchange Commission imposed a $100 million penalty on inside-trader Ivan F. Boesky and barred him from working again in the securities industry.