At the age of 30, Bly married millionaire Robert Seamen and retired from journalism. Biography of Nellie Bly, Investigative Journalist, World Traveler. After the fanfare of her trip around the world, Bly quit reporting and took a lucrative job writing serial novels for publisher Norman Munro's weekly New York Family Story Paper. The editor, Joseph Pulitzer, declined that story, but he challenged Bly to investigate one of New Yorks most notorious mental asylums, Blackwells Island. In 1889, the paper sent her on a trip around the world in a record-setting 72 days. Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World. Nellie Bly: Around the World in 72 Days. Senator John Heinz History Center. Her world tour made her a celebrity. How many siblings did Molly Pitcher have? Oil on canvas. She challenged the stereotypical assumption that women could not travel without many suitcases, outfit changes, and vanity items. What was nellie blys favorite color? National Women's History Museum. Nellie Bly left New York for France on November 14, 1889. Brief Life History of Jonathan J She wanted to write a story on the immigrant experience in the United States. Nellie Bly married manufacturer Robert Seaman in 1895. Smithsonian Institute Archives Image # SIA 2010-1509. Ten Days in a Mad-House is a book by American journalist Nellie Bly. The newspapers editor, George A. Madden, was so impressed with the letter that he published a note asking the Lonely Orphan Girl to reveal her name. Her first articles, on conditions among working girls in Pittsburgh, slum life, and other similar topics, marked her as a reporter of ingenuity and concern. Before becoming an investigative journalist and travelling around the world in 72 days, Nellie Bly had a childhood. New-York Historical Society Library. Elizabeths boss did not want to anger Pittsburghs elite and quickly reassigned her as a society columnist. Blys six-part series on her experience in the asylum was called Ten Days in the Madhouse and quickly made Bly one of the most famous journalists in the country. Bly accomplished her goal with days to spare, and, as with her experience in the asylum, her report became a book, Around the World in Seventy-Two Days (1890). (Bly's record was beaten in 1890 by George Francis Train, who finished the trip in 67 days.). Portrait of Nellie Bly. In response to an article in the Pittsburg[h] Dispatch that criticized the presence of women in the workforce, Bly penned an open letter to the editor that called for more opportunities for women, especially those responsible for the financial wellbeing of their families. What might she have been able to do that men could not? She left the newspaper industry after her marriage to serve as the president of her husbands company, Iron Clad Manufacturing Co. As a social reformer she gave over-the-top perks to her employees but the scheme cost the company so dearly that it went bankrupt. Nellie Bly managed to circumnavigate the world in just 72 days, eight less than Jules Verne's fictitious hero, Phileas Fogg, who inspired the feat. How many brothers and sisters did Ella Baker have? One of her first undertakings for that paper was to get herself committed to the asylum on Blackwells (now Roosevelt) Island by feigning insanity. Bly crafted a fiery rebuttal that grabbed the attention of the paper's managing editor, George Madden, who, in turn, offered her a position. How many brothers and sisters did Jimmy Carter have? [54] A fictionalized version of Bly as a mouse named Nellie Brie appears as a central character in the animated children's film An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster. Nellie Bly had 14 siblings (10 half-siblings; 4 full blooded siblings). 1893-1894. Born Elizabeth Cochran Seaman, Nellie Bly grew up in Pennsylvania in an area that is now a suburb of Pittsburgh. At New York, she soon found herself a job at Joseph Pulitzers newspaper, New York World. One of her early assignments was to investigate reports of brutality and neglect at the Women's Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell's Island. It was there that she added an e to her last name, becoming Elizabeth Jane Cochrane. She went undercover to expose an insane asylums horrors. Watch Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story on Lifetime Movie Club. Nellie Bly, was one of fourteen siblings growing up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Patents 808,327 and 808,413). In her first act of stunt journalism for the World, Elizabeth pretended to be mentally ill and arranged to be a patient at New Yorks insane asylum for the poor, Blackwells Island. Elizabeth marched into the Dispatch offices and introduced herself. New-York Historical Society Library. Given the green light to try the feat by the New York World, Bly embarked on her journey from Hoboken, New Jersey, in November 1889, traveling first by ship and later also via horse, rickshaw, sampan, burro and other vehicles. June 7, 1999. Bly later compiled the articles into a book, being published by Ian L. Munro in New York City in 1887. Born Elizabeth Jane Cochran, Nellie Bly was famed for pioneering new investigative journalism when she worked as an undercover journalist in New York's most notorious mental institution. How many siblings did Queen Elizabeth I have? How many siblings did Angelina Grimke have? She also interviewed and wrote pieces on several prominent figures of the time, including Emma Goldman and Susan B. Anthony. The town was founded by her father, Judge Michael Cochran. Now Nellie Bly is getting her due", "Young and Brave: Girls Changing History", "Into the Madhouse with Nellie Bly: Girl Stunt Reporting in Late Nineteenth-Century America", "Nellie Bly's Lessons in Writing What You Want To", "Ten Days in a Madhouse: The Woman Who Got Herself Committed", George Francis Train, The Bostonian Who Really Was Phileas Fogg, "Almost 100 Years After Her Death, Nellie Bly Is Back", "Nellie Bly, journalist, Dies of Pneumonia", "Industries Business History of Oil Drillers, Refiners", "Nellie Bly, Girl Reporter: Daredevil journalist", "Marching for the Vote: Remembering the Woman Suffrage Parade of 1913", "Elizabeth Jane Cochran National Women's Hall of Fame", "Four Accomplished Journalists Honored on U.S. Postage Stamps", "Nellie Bly Marguerite Higgins Ethel L. Payne Ida M. Tarbell March Women's History Month Lady Journalists on Postage Stamps", "Amanda Matthews of Prometheus Art Selected to Create Monument to Journalist Nelly Bly on Roosevelt Island, Press Release", "Monument honoring journalist Nellie Bly opens: "This installation is spiritual", "New York Press Club Announces its 2020 Journalism Award Winners", "Fearless Feminist Reporter Nellie Bly Hits the Big Screen", "Judith Light hopes 'The Nellie Bly Story' will prompt mental health discussions", "All the Real-Life Scary Stories Told on American Horror Story", "Ladyghosts: The West Wing 2.05, 'And It's Surely to Their Credit', "Nellie Bly Goes Undercover at Blackwell's Island", "What Girls are Good For: Happy birthday Nellie Bly", "What Girls Are Good For - A Novel Of Nellie Bly", "Author: There's gold in them thar southern Black Hills", "The Mad Girls of New York: A Nellie Bly Novel", "New Book Gives Rebel Girls The Bedtime Tales They Deserve", "Round the world with Nellie Bly The Worlds globe circler", "Adventurer's Park Family Entertainment Center Brooklyn, NY", "The nautical adventures of the Trillium ferry in Toronto", "Ann Arbor Native David Blixt Discovered a Cache of Long Lost Novels by Journalist-Adventurer Nellie Bly", "American Woman Imprisoned in Austria; Liberated When Identified by Dr. Friedman", 10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1601472, "Nellie Bly: Pioneer journalist extraordinaire", "Dislocating the Masculine: How Nellie Bly Feminised Her Reports", Library of Congress "Nellie Bly: A Resource Guide", The Daring Nellie Bly: America's Star Reporter, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nellie_Bly&oldid=1141296960, Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York), Indiana University of Pennsylvania alumni, Pennsylvania state historical marker significations, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from January 2023, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2020, Pages using Sister project links with hidden wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Elly Cochran, Elizabeth Jane Cochrane, and most commonly known as Nellie Bly as her pen-name, Information, photos and original Nellie Bly articles at, This page was last edited on 24 February 2023, at 09:53. Although several newspapers turned down her application because she was a woman, she was eventually given the opportunity to write for Joseph Pulitzers New York World. Unable to maintain the land or their house, Bly's family left Cochran's Mill. In 1887, 23-year-old reporter Nellie Bly had herself committed to a New York City asylum to expose the horrific conditions for 19th-century mental patients. How many siblings did Sybil Ludington have? Her report, published 9 October 1887[23] and later in book form as Ten Days in a Mad-House, caused a sensation, prompted the asylum to implement reforms, and brought her lasting fame. She published all of her works as Elizabeth Bisland . A steam tug named after Bly served as a fireboat in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She was far and away the best-known woman journalist of her day. [1] She was a pioneer in her field and launched a new kind of investigative journalism. Michael Cochrans rise from mill worker to mill owner to judge meant his family lived very comfortably. Nellie's father was a successful businessman and a good parent to Nellie and her four siblings. How many siblings did Amy Carmichael have? [28] Bly's journey was a world record, though it only stood for a few months, until George Francis Train completed the journey in 67 days.[31]. For the same, she feigned insanity to get into the asylum and have a first-hand experience of the treatment meted out to patients. She completed the trip in 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes and 14 secondssetting a real-world record, despite her fictional inspiration for the undertaking. Male 4 November 1848-29 June 1903 LHVT-N79. In 2015, director Timothy Hines released 10 Days in a Madhouse, which also depicts Bly's harrowing experience in the asylum. July 28, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/07/28/she-went-undercover-expose-an-insane-asylums-horrors-now-nellie-bly-is-getting-her-due/. [14] It was customary for women who were newspaper writers at that time to use pen names. All rights reserved. The young, intrepid reporter who graced the pages of the New York World at the end of the 19th century led a busy life. [50], Bly has been portrayed in the films The Adventures of Nellie Bly (1981),[51] 10 Days in a Madhouse (2015),[52] and Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story (2019). In conjunction with one of her first assignments for the World, she spent several days on Blackwell's Island, posing as a mental patient for an expos. Her mother was from a wealthy Pittsburgh family. Corrections? She used the pen name Nellie Bly, which she took from a well-known song at the time, Nelly Bly. Bly was a popular columnist, but she was limited to writing pieces that only addressed women and soon quit in dissatisfaction. [68], Bly is one of 100 women featured in the first version of the book Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls written by Elena Favilli & Francesca Cavallo. Her plan was to graduate and find a position as a teacher. Bly went on to gain more fame in 1889, when she traveled around the world in an attempt to break the faux record of Phileas Fogg, the fictional title character of Jules Verne's 1873 novel, Around the World in Eighty Days. (New York, N.Y.), 14 Nov. 1889. episode "Jack's Back". The story of Nellie Bly, the pen name of a young reporter named Elizabeth Cochran, has been told and retold ever since she burst onto the scene in 1887. It was one of the few things that helped set her apart from her 14 siblings. How many siblings did Eleanor of Aquitaine have? She had several siblings and half-siblings. At 15, Bly enrolled at the State Normal School in Indiana, Pennsylvania. Also Known As: Elizabeth Jane Cochran, Elisabeth Cochrane Seaman, place of death: New York City, United States, Notable Alumni: Indiana University Of Pennsylvania, education: Indiana University Of Pennsylvania, See the events in life of Nellie Bly in Chronological Order, (Journalist and Writer Known for Her Record-BreakingTrip Around the Worldin 72 Days), http://www.newseum.org/2015/03/17/unsung-heroes-nellie-bly/, http://womenshistory.about.com/od/blynellie/p/Nellie-Bly.htm, https://www.post-gazette.com/life/lifestyle/2015/01/25/Honoring-Nellie-Bly-s-trip-125-years-ago-a-British-woman-retraces-her-steps-around-the-globe/stories/201501250014, https://www.biography.com/people/nellie-bly-9216680. Goodman, Matthew. Full_Name: Elizabeth Jane Cochran. How many siblings did Mother Teresa have? Pace, Lawson. [34] Due to her husband's failing health, she left journalism and succeeded her husband as head of the Iron Clad Manufacturing Co., which made steel containers such as milk cans and boilers. This lesson will teach you about Nellie Bly, her adventures, her inventions, and why she wrote under a fake name! She wasn't the first woman of her time to join a newsroom, but she was certainly the most. Franois (Franz) Fleischbein (artist), Portrait of Betsy, 1837. Nellie Bly was born Elizabeth Jane Cochran on May 5, 1864 in Cochrans Mill, Pennsylvania. In the piece, writer Erasmus Wilson (known to Dispatch readers as the "Quiet Observer," or Q.O.) The stunt made her famous. How many siblings did Eleanor Roosevelt have? Her real name was Elizabeth Jane Cochrane; Nellie Bly was her pen name and the name under which she is most well-known. Elizabeths report about Blackwells Island earned her a permanent position as an investigative journalist for the World. Bly went on to patent several inventions related to oil manufacturing, many of which are still used today. With Christina Ricci, Judith Light, Josh Bowman, Anja Savcic. The evening world. How many siblings did Sophie Germain have? Journalist Nellie Bly began writing for the Pittsburgh Dispatch in 1885. Her article's headline was "Suffragists Are Men's Superiors" and in its text she accurately predicted that it would be 1920 before women in the United States would be given the right to vote.

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