Nellie Bly

On this day Nellie Bly circled the globe in 72 days, beating the record of Phileas Fogg of around the world in 80 days. Born May 5, 1864 and named Elizabeth Jane Corhran, her nickname was Pink. Pink was hired at the age of 18, at the Pittsburgh Dispatch and needed a pen name. Pink came up with Nellie Bly, a character in the song Nelly Bly, written 35 years earlier. Nellie wrote on women's rights issues, investigative reports, and a World War I reporter.