On this day in history

November 14

American

1910Eugene Ely flies a plane off the deck of the cruiser Birmingham, the first airplane takeoff from a ship and th…

Eugene Ely flies a plane off the deck of the cruiser Birmingham, the first airplane takeoff from a ship and the birth of naval aviation.

1969Apollo 12 launches for the Moon, struck by lightning twice on the way up and surviving.

Apollo 12 launches for the Moon, struck by lightning twice on the way up and surviving.

1970A plane carrying the Marshall University football team crashes in West Virginia, killing all 75 aboard.

A plane carrying the Marshall University football team crashes in West Virginia, killing all 75 aboard.

1851Moby Dick is published in the United States, Herman Melville's epic of obsession that flops before becoming a …

Moby Dick is published in the United States, Herman Melville's epic of obsession that flops before becoming a classic.

1940German bombers devastate Coventry, England, destroying the medieval cathedral in a night of fire.

German bombers devastate Coventry, England, destroying the medieval cathedral in a night of fire.

1889Reporter Nellie Bly sets off to race around the world in under 80 days, and finishes it in 72.

Reporter Nellie Bly sets off to race around the world in under 80 days, and finishes it in 72.