Nellie Bly

She was an American journalist, industrialist, inventor, and charity worker who was widely known for her record-breaking trip around the world in 72 days, in emulation of Jules Verne's fictional character Phileas Fogg, and an exposé in which she worked undercover to report on a mental institution from within. She was a pioneer in her field and launched a new kind of investigative journalism.

She completed the trip in 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes and 14 seconds—setting a real-world record, despite her fictional inspiration for the undertaking. (Bly's record was beaten in 1890 by George Francis Train, who finished the trip in 67 days.)