Nellie Bly and the only luggage she would carry for 72 days
Nellie Bly began her trip in 1889 to go around the world in eighty days. She was trying to copy the trip Jules Verne created for his character Phileas Fogg in the book Around the World in Eighty Days. She completed the 24,899 mile trip in slightly over 72 days, returning to New Jersey on January 25, 1890. During her trip she met Jules Verne in France. She sailed through the Suez Canal and traveled through Hong Kong and Japan. Her record lasted only a few months; in 1890 George Francis Train went around the world in 67 days. Children can visit a website devoted to her at: Nellie Bly.