Today in history:

On Nov. 14, 1910, Eugene B. Ely became the first aviator to take off from a ship as his Curtiss “Pusher” biplane lifted off the deck of the cruiser USS Birmingham off Hampton Roads, Virginia. The flight by the civilian pilot marked the beginnings of naval aviation.

Also 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 1889, journalist Nellie Bly began an attempt to travel around the world in 80 days; she would successfully complete the journey in a little more than 72 days via ships, trains and other means of transport.

In 1940, during World War II, German bombing raids destroyed much of the English city of Coventry.

In 1960, 6-year-old Ruby Bridges,

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