Nellie Bly was a journalist at a time when there were very few women in the workforce. Bly suffered a tragic loss in 1870, at the age of six, when her father died suddenly. In early 2019, Lifetime released a thriller based on Bly's experience as an undercover reporter in a women's mental ward. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Nellie Bly was born on May 5, 1864 (age 57) in Burrell, Pennsylvania, United States She is a celebrity journalist How many children did Coretta Scott King have? Full_Name: Elizabeth Jane Cochran. . Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. [26] She was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York City. [citation needed] The character of Lana Winters (Sarah Paulson) in American Horror Story: Asylum is inspired by Bly's experience in the asylum. As a child she wore it so often she was nicknamed Pinky. She also prioritized the welfare of the employees, providing health care benefits and recreational facilities. How many blood siblings did Queen Isabella have? In 1889, the paper sent her on a trip around the world in a record-setting 72 days. [13] Her first article for the Dispatch, titled "The Girl Puzzle", argued that not all women would marry and that what was needed were better jobs for women. 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. In an effort to accurately expose the conditions at the asylum, she pretended to be a mental patient in order to be committed to the facility, .css-47aoac{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#A00000;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-47aoac:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}where she lived for 10 days. National Women's History Museum. [11], In 1885, a column in the Pittsburgh Dispatch titled "What Girls Are Good For" stated that girls were principally for birthing children and keeping house. She moved to New York City in 1886, but found it extremely difficult to find work as a female reporter in the male-dominated field. When Bly was six, her father died suddenly and without a will. Does Nellie have any. All Rights Reserved. She completed circumnavigating the world in just 72 days and recorded her travel experiences in a book titled Around the World in 72 Days. She also covered major stories like the march of Jacob Coxeys Army on Washington, D.C. and the Pullman strike in Chicago, both of which were 1894 protests in favor of workers rights. Nellie Blys first major work as a reporter was when she did the asylum expose for New York World. Her work Ten Days in a Mad House was a phenomenal success and won her great acclaim. How many siblings did Emmeline Pankhurst have? The first chapters of Eva The Adventuress, based on the real-life trial of Eva Hamilton, appeared in print before Bly returned to New York. "On the species of Pamphobeteus Pocock, 1901 deposited in the Natural History Museum, London, with redescriptions of type material, the first record of P. grandis Bertani, Fukushima & Silva, 2008 from Peru, and the description of four new species". Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. "Nellie Bly." Elizabeth is often described as a muckraker. How many siblings did Cleopatra VII have? Before becoming an investigative journalist and travelling around the world in 72 days,. 10 Days in a Madhouse: Directed by Timothy Hines. The New York World published daily updates on her journey and the entire country followed her story. New York, Nellie Bly Press, 2017. [33] Bly was 31 and Seaman was 73 when they married. In 1904, when her husband died, Bly took over the reign of the company. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. All rights reserved. How many siblings did Elizabeth Blackwell have? [69], The board game Round the World with Nellie Bly created in 1890 is named in recognition of her trip. Led by New York Assistant District Attorney Vernon M. Davis, with Bly assisting, the asylum investigation resulted in significant changes in New York City's Department of Public Charities and Corrections (later split into separate agencies). The Sibling Society The Sibling Society Reconsidering the Siblings, a Critical Study of Robert Bly's The Sibling Society The Sibling Society Mirabai Iron John Leaping Poetry A Little Book on the Human Shadow Morning Poems The Teeth-Mother Naked at Last Growing Yourself Back Up Talking Into the . [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]. Her reporting not only raised awareness about mental health treatment and led to improvements in institutional conditions, it also ushered in an age of investigative journalism. A number of positive changes were made after the release of the book. In 1911, she returned to journalism as a reporter for the New York Evening Journal. National Women's History Museum, 2022. How many siblings did Shirley Chisholm have? Journalist Nellie Bly began writing for the Pittsburgh Dispatch in 1885. When Elizabeth Cochran began in journalism in 1885, it was considered inappropriate for a woman to write under her own name. History 101: Nellie Bly. Lutes, Jean Marie. How many brothers and sisters did Jimmy Carter have? [1] [2] Brief Life History of Jonathan J Male 4 November 1848-29 June 1903 LHVT-N79. Elizabeth had fourteen siblings. Her reporting introduced readers to the horrors of insane asylums and to international travel. The most famous of Elizabeths stunts was her successful seventy-two-day trip around the world in 1889, for which she had two goals. And much of this has to do with her firsthand account of life in an insane asylum. How many siblings did Queen Liliuokalani have? Engraving. How many siblings did Mary Livermore have? Elizabeth Jane Cochran was born on May 5, 1864 in Cochran's Mill, Pennsylvania (now Burrell Township), and during her youth, she had the nickname, "Pinky" (wore pink a lot). It was no mere armchair observation, because Bly got herself committed . Madden offered her an opportunity to write another column, and after she submitted her column on how divorce affects women, he hired her for the newspaper (giving her the pseudonym Nellie Bly). "Bly, Nellie (1864-1922), reporter and manufacturer. How many siblings did Victoria Woodhull have? Her honest reporting about the horrors of workers lives attracted negative attention from local factory owners. She often exposed the poor working conditions faced by women. His farm, mill, and the surrounding area became known as "Cochran's Mill" (part of a suburb of Pittsburgh). [47], The New York Press Club confers an annual Nellie Bly Cub Reporter journalism award to acknowledge the best journalistic effort by an individual with three years or fewer of professional experience. American National Biography. It was initially published as a series of articles for the New York World. How many siblings did Sybil Ludington have? Seaman died in 1904, and Bly took over his firm, the Iron Clad Manufacturing Company. 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. Nellie Bly was born as Elizabeth Jane Cochran on May 5, 1864 in Cochrans Mills, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, to a mill worker Michael Cochran and his wife Mary Jane. Between 1889 and 1895 she wrote eleven novels. When Robert died in 1904, Elizabeth briefly took over as president of his companies. For 72 days, as she jumped cargo ships, trains, tugboats, and rickshaws, newspaper readers had. The story of an investigative journalist who used her career to shed light on the horrors of urban life and break gender stereotypes. For the first 20 or so years of her life, Nellie Bly was known not as Nellie, nor as Elizabeth Jane Cochran, which was her birth name, but as "Pink," due to her fondness for the color, according to New World Encyclopedia. During World War I, she traveled to Europe as the first woman to report from the trenches on the front line. [8], As a young girl, Elizabeth often was called "Pinky" because she so frequently wore that color. Shop eBooks and audiobooks at Rakuten Kobo. How many siblings did Anne Sullivan have? Once examined by a police officer, a judge, and a doctor, Bly was taken to Blackwell's Island. "Bly, Nellie (1864-1922), reporter and manufacturer." [20] Penniless after four months, she talked her way into the offices of Joseph Pulitzer's newspaper the New York World and took an undercover assignment for which she agreed to feign insanity to investigate reports of brutality and neglect at the Women's Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell's Island, now named Roosevelt Island. Elizabeth marched into the Dispatch offices and introduced herself. Blys literary success proliferated when she turned the fictional tale of Jules Vernes 1873 novel Around the World in Eighty Days, into reality. Just two years after reviving her writing career, on January 27, 1922, Bly died from pneumonia in New York City. Bly later enrolled at the Indiana Normal School, a small college in Indiana, Pennsylvania, where she studied to become a teacher. NASA on The Commons, via flickr, Home / Modernizing America, 1889-1920 / Modern Womanhood / Life Story: Nellie Bly. Patents 808,327 and 808,413). Between 1889 and 1895, Nellie Bly also penned twelve novels for The New York Family Story Paper. [1] She was a pioneer in her field and launched a new kind of investigative journalism. Bly crafted a fiery rebuttal that grabbed the attention of the paper's managing editor, George Madden, who, in turn, offered her a position. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030193/1889-11-14/ed-3/seq-1/, By: Arlisha R. Norwood, NWHM Fellow; Updated by: Mariana Brandman, NWHM Predoctoral Fellow in Womens History | 2020-2022. She was one of 15 children. Gertrude Kasebier, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. Early in life, she was compelled to speak truth to power when she testified on her mother's behalf against an abusive stepfather. Pace, Lawson. How many siblings did Susan B. Anthony have? In 1887, Bly stormed into the office of the, Blys six-part series on her experience in the asylum was called. Ten Days in a Mad-House was a raging success and brought Nellie Bly immense fame and recognition as a writer and civil rights activist. How many siblings does Katherine Johnson have? 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. "Pink," as she was known in childhood, was the youngest of 13 (or 15, according . In it, she explained that New York City invested more money into care for the mentally ill after her articles were published. She covered a number of national news stories, including the Woman Suffrage Parade of 1913 in Washington, D.C. Elizabeth often referred to suffrage in her articles, arguing that women were as capable as men in all things. ACTIVISM AND SOCIAL CHANGE; AMERICAN IDENTITY AND CITIZENSHIP, Major support for Women & the American Story provided by, Lead support for New-York Historicals teacher programs provided by. One of Bly's earliest assignments was to author a piece detailing the experiences endured by patients of the infamous mental institution on Blackwell's Island (now Roosevelt Island) in New York City. She regularly sent articles reporting about the lives and customs of Mexican people which were later published as a book titled, Six Months in Mexico. Her father, Michael Cochran, owned a lucrative mill and served as associate justice of Armstrong County. Her straightforward yet compassionate approach to these issues captivated audiences. Ten Days in a Mad-House is a book by American journalist Nellie Bly. Wanting to write pieces that addressed both men and women, Bly began looking for a newspaper that would allow her to write on more serious topics. She faced rejection after rejection as news editors would not consider hiring a woman. Following her superlative success with the Blackwell expose, she continued with her investigative series of work, exposing improper treatment in New York jails and factories, corruption in state legislature and so on. How many children did Catherine of Aragon have? To sustain interest in the story, the World organized a "Nellie Bly Guessing Match" in which readers were asked to estimate Bly's arrival time to the second, with the Grand Prize consisting at first of a trip to Europe and, later on, spending money for the trip. Date accessed. Nellie Bly was known for her pioneering journalism, including her 1887 expos on the conditions of asylum patients at Blackwell's Island in New York City and her report of her 72-day trip around the world. These changes included a larger appropriation of funds for the care of mentally ill patients, additional physician appointments for stronger supervision of nurses and other healthcare workers, and regulations to prevent overcrowding and fire hazards at the city's medical facilities. How many siblings did Frances Hodgson Burnett have? How many siblings did Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton have? 1985.212. "Nellie Bly." Similar reportorial gambits took her into sweatshops, jails, and the legislature (where she exposed bribery in the lobbyist system). When Bly was six, her father died suddenly and without a will. In it, she explores the country's people and customs, and even stumbles upon marijuana. This is a short thirty-minute lesson on Frances Ellen Watkins Harper. [14] It was customary for women who were newspaper writers at that time to use pen names. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division Washington, D.C. McLoughlin Bros., Round the World with Nellie Bly, 1890. In 1887 Cochrane left Pittsburgh for New York City and went to work for Joseph Pulitzers New York World. How many siblings did Elizabeth Cady Stanton have? New-York Historical Society Library. Bly followed her Blackwell's expos with similar investigative work, including editorials detailing the improper treatment of individuals in New York jails and factories, corruption in the state legislature and other first-hand accounts of malfeasance. 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. Bly was born Elizabeth Jane Cochran (she later added an "e" to the end of her name) on May 5, 1864, in Cochran's Mills, Pennsylvania. [26], Back in reporting, she covered the Woman Suffrage Procession of 1913 for the New York Evening Journal. Women in Art and Literature: Who Said It? Well never share your email with anyone else, Nellie Bly became a star journalist by going undercover as a patient at a New York City mental health asylum in 1887 and exposing its terrible conditions in the, Bly looked for work to help support her family, but found fewer opportunities than her less-educated brothers. [9] In 1879, she enrolled at Indiana Normal School (now Indiana University of Pennsylvania) for one term but was forced to drop out due to lack of funds. Following her marriage, she retired from journalism and became the president of her husband's Iron Clad Manufacturing Company. She started a new trend in reporting that earned her recognition as an undercover reporter. Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, Name: Nellie Bly, Birth Year: 1864, Birth date: May 5, 1864, Birth State: Pennsylvania, Birth City: Cochran's Mills, Birth Country: United States. "Nellie Bly." How many children did Anne Hutchinson have? Nellie Bly was a nationally significant journalist at the New York World. How many siblings did Patricia Bath have? Within her lifetime, Nellie Bly published three non-fiction books (compilations of her newspaper reportage) and one novel in book form. At the age of 30, Bly married millionaire Robert Seamen and retired from journalism. In 1888, Bly suggested to her editor at the New York World that she take a trip around the world, attempting to turn the fictional Around the World in Eighty Days (1873) into fact for the first time. . As she became a teenager, she wanted to portray herself as more sophisticated, and she dropped the nickname and changed her surname to "Cochrane". [17] Madden was impressed again and offered her a full-time job. One of the protagonist's adventures in the 2003 film "The Adventures of Ociee Nash" is meeting Nellie Bly (Donna Wright) on a train. A year later, at 9:40a.m. on November 14, 1889, and with two days' notice,[27][clarification needed] she boarded the Augusta Victoria, a steamer of the Hamburg America Line,[28] and began her 40,070 kilometer journey. [16] Cochrane originally intended that her pseudonym be "Nelly Bly", but her editor wrote "Nellie" by mistake, and the error stuck. Into the Madhouse with Nellie Bly: Girl Stunt Reporting in the Late Nineteenth Century America., Nellie Bly PBS: American Experience, Accessed 23 March 23, 2017, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/world/peopleevents/pande01.html. How many sisters did Martha Washington have? 2022. How many siblings did Emily Dickinson have? Elizabeths writing career started abruptly and unintentionally. During her early journalism career, Bly wrote Six Months in Mexico (1888), which describes her time as a foreign correspondent in Mexico in 1885. How many siblings did Wilma Rudolph have? How many siblings did Dorothy Height have? Watch Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story on Lifetime Movie Club. For a time, she was one of the leading women industrialists in the United States. Into the Madhouse with Nellie Bly: Girl Stunt Reporting in the Late Nineteenth Century America. American Quarterly, 54 no 2. On May 5, 2015, the Google search engine produced an interactive "Google Doodle" for Bly; for the "Google Doodle" Karen O wrote, composed, and recorded an original song about Bly, and Katy Wu created an animation set to Karen O's music. ", Lutes, Jean Marie. Unidentified African American woman in uniform, 1861. of Congress. [citation needed] Julia Duffy appeared as Bly in the July 10, 1983 Voyagers! Unknown photographer, A Typical Boomer Family, ca. As few copies of the paper survived, these novels were thought lost until 2021, when author David Blixt announced their discovery, found in Munro's British weekly The London Story Paper. Nellie Bly was ousted from Mexico after she ran a series of articles criticizing the Mexican dictator and ruler, Porfirio Diaz. [38], Bly wrote stories on Europe's Eastern Front during World War I. Cochrane rode on ships and trains, in rickshaws and sampans, on horses and burros. She is often confused with the journalist Nellie Bly (1864-1922). After her ten-days-in-a-madhouse stunt and her circumnavigation of the globefeats that would make her a household nameshe went on to do many other things. [15] "Mad Marriages" was published under the byline of Nellie Bly, rather than "Lonely Orphan Girl". Nellie lived on a big farm with her parents Michael Cochran and Mary Kane and her siblings. How many siblings does Bessie Coleman have? How many siblings did Mary Todd Lincoln have? Nellie Bly's stint in the facility wasn't necessarily how she envisioned making a name for herself. [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. Furthermore, her hands-on approach to reporting developed into a practice now called investigative journalism. The investigative nature of her articles and her cry for womens rights issues did not go too well with the editors of the newspaper who pushed her into the so-called women's pages to cover fashion, society, and gardening. Combine Elizabeth Cochranes life story with the life stories of, Connect Elizabeth Cochranes work to that of fellow muckraker, Elizabeth Cochrane was one of many Americans who fought to eradicate what she perceived as the evils of modern life. Life Story: Elizabeth Cochrane, aka Nellie Bly (1864-1922), Women & The American Story, New-York Historical Society Library and Museum. How many siblings did Benazir Bhutto have? .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover;}}Who Is Dilbert Cartoonist Scott Adams? She told him about her plans to travel alone by train and ship around the world. [74] From early in the twentieth century until 1961, the Pennsylvania Railroad operated an express train named the Nellie Bly on a route between New York and Atlantic City, bypassing Philadelphia. 1890. Biography: You Need to Know: Agness Underwood. Also, her 1889 record-breaking trip around the world in 72 days, in emulation of Jules Verne's fictional character Phileas Fogg, was a historic move for a woman at that time. Bly's expos, published in the World soon after her return to reality, was a massive success. claimed that women were best served by conducting domestic duties and called the working woman "a monstrosity." She was six years old when her beloved father died without warning, and without a will, plunging his once wealthy and respected family into poverty and shame. [19] When Mexican authorities learned of Bly's report, they threatened her with arrest, prompting her to flee the country. Nellie Bly was born on May 5, 1864 in Cochran Mill, Pennsylvania. Nellie Bly, was one of fourteen siblings growing up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. However, after only a year and a half, Elizabeth ran out of money and could no longer afford the tuition. [21], It was not easy for Bly to be admitted to the Asylum: she first decided to check herself into a boarding house called "Temporary Homes for Females". Bly told the assistant matron: "There are so many crazy people about, and one can never tell what they will do. As was the trend then, women writers wrote under pen names. The editor chose "Nellie Bly", after the African-American title character in the popular song "Nelly Bly" by Stephen Foster. Michael married twice. Search results for "The Babysitter Chronicles" at Rakuten Kobo. To escape writing about womens issues on the society page, Elizabeth volunteered to travel to Mexico. She was far and away the best-known woman journalist of her day. Died: January 27, 1922, New York City, NY. In 1887, Bly stormed into the office of the New York World, one of the leading newspapers in the country. Elizabeth Bisland Wetmore (February 11, 1861 - January 6, 1929) was an American journalist and author, perhaps now best known for her 1889-1890 race around the world against Nellie Bly, which drew worldwide attention. In this lesson, students will experience the tragedy of the commons through a team activity in which they compete for resources. Print Page Nellie Bly Nellie Bly, c. 1890. At the age of 15, she enrolled in the State Normal School in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and an added an e to her last name to sound more distinguished. [11], Burdened again with theater and arts reporting, Bly left the Pittsburgh Dispatch in 1887 for New York City. National Women's History Museum. siblings: Harry Cummings Cochrane. She completed the trip in 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes and 14 seconds, setting a new world record. Abigail Adams was an early advocate for women's rights. Though New York World continuously covered her travel diaries, it was later in 1890 that Bly published a book about the experience, titling it Around the World in 72 Days. [10] In 1880, Cochrane's mother moved her family to Allegheny City, which was later annexed by the City of Pittsburgh. The column, which appeared in The Dispatch on February 1, 1885, was bylined "Nellie Bly.". Safely home, she accused Daz of being a tyrannical czar suppressing the Mexican people and controlling the press. How many siblings did Lucretia Garfield have? Unable to maintain the land or their house, Bly's family left Cochran's Mill. Nellie Blys Book: Around the World in Seventy-two Days (1890) was a great popular success, and the name Nellie Bly became a synonym for a female star reporter. Though most of her works were based on throwing light at the appalling condition of women in the society, and the need to uplift them, she is best remembered for her work on an asylum expos in 1887 in which she faked insanity to get into a mental asylum and reported about the horrific condition of the mental patients. Nellie Bly, c. 1890. Nellie Bly was born Elizabeth Jane Cochran on May 5, 1864 in Cochran's Mill, Pennsylvania. How many siblings did Louisa May Alcott have? How many siblings did Mary McLeod Bethune have. Jarena Lee, 1849. [29][30] During her travels around the world, Bly went through England, France (where she met Jules Verne in Amiens), Brindisi, the Suez Canal, Colombo (in Ceylon), the Straits Settlements of Penang and Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan. Best Known For: Nellie Bly was known for her pioneering journalism, including her 1887 expos on the conditions of asylum patients at Blackwell's Island in New York City and her report of her. Her report of the horrifyingly appalling conditions prevailing inside the asylum was an eye-opener for the general public and authorities alike. Elizabeth Jane Cochran, a.k.a. [45] The winning proposal, The Girl Puzzle by Amanda Matthews, was announced on October 16, 2019.