On this day in 1889, New York World daredevil reporter Nellie Bly set out to travel around the world. Her goal was to do it in fewer days than the fictional hero Phileas Fogg in Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days (1873).

Starting from New York, she completed the journey in 72 days, 6 hours, and 11 minutes, welcomed along the way by brass bands, cheers, and fireworks that lit her path home.

Born Elizabeth Jane Cochrane (1864–1922) in Cochran’s Mills, Pennsylvania, Bly became a reporter in 1885 to help her family with financial problems. She adopted her pen name from a Stephen Foster song and quickly showed a gift for fearless storytelling.

Building a reputation as a pioneer in investigative journalism, Bly examined sweatshops and slums in Pittsburgh and wrote about the lives of the poor in Mexico. “I was too impatient to work along at the usual duties assigned women at newspapers,” she explained.

As a reporter for Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World, she exposed the brutal treatment of patients at an insane asylum — researching the story first-hand by committing herself for over a week. Her writing exposed corruption and inspired reform.

At a time when career options were limited for women, Nellie Bly, a risk taker with a purpose, found fame and made a difference.

“I have never written a word that did not come from my heart. I never shall.”

Her words echo long after her travels ended. When we honor that inner compass, the journey becomes a bright celebration.