Today 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.)

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 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. (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 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.

In 1996, singer Michael Jackson married his plastic surgeon’s nurse, Debbie Rowe, in a ceremony in Sydney, Australia. (Rowe filed for divorce in 1999.)

Ten years ago: A justice of the peace in Las Vegas ordered O.J. Simpson to stand trial on kidnapping and armed robbery charges stemming from a confrontation with memorabilia dealers in a casino hotel room. (Simpson was convicted and served nine years in prison before being paroled in Sept. 2017.) The prime ministers of North and South Korea launched their first talks in 15 years.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama, in his first news conference since winning a second term, challenged congressional Republicans to let taxes rise on the wealthiest Americans, saying that would ease the threat of another recession as the nation faced a “fiscal cliff.” Baseball’s Cy Young Awards went to Tampa Bay’s David Price in the American League and R.A. Dickey of the New York Mets in the National League.

One year ago: Corey Seager of the Los Angeles Dodgers won the National League Rookie of the Year award unanimously and Detroit’s Michael Fulmer took the American League honor.

“Rewards and punishments are the lowest form of education.” — Chuang-tzu, Chinese writer (c.369 B.C.-c.286 B.C.).