TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

Nov. 14, 1889

Inspired by the Jules Verne novel “Around the World in Eighty Days,” New York World reporter Nellie Bly set out to make the trip in less time than the fictional Phileas Fogg. ALSO ON THIS DATE

1851

Herman Melville’s novel “Moby-Dick; Or, The Whale” was published in the United States, almost a month after being released in Britain.

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.

1925

The first group exhibition of surrealistic paintings opened at the Galerie Pierre in Paris.

1940

During World War II, German planes destroyed most of the English town of Coventry.

1944

Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra recorded “Opus No. 1” for RCA Victor.

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.

1965

The U.S. Army’s first major military operation of the Vietnam War began with the start of the five-day Battle of Ia Drang.