Before becoming an investigative journalist and travelling around the world in 72 days, Nellie Bly had a childhood. [16] Cochrane originally intended that her pseudonym be "Nelly Bly", but her editor wrote "Nellie" by mistake, and the error stuck. Nellie Bly was born Elizabeth Jane Cochran on May 5, 1864 in Cochrans Mill, Pennsylvania. Her father, Michael Cochran, owned a lucrative mill and served as associate justice of Armstrong County. Interestingly, rival newspaper New York Cosmopolitan had sent their reporter Elizabeth Bisland on a similar journey but she arrived four days later. Journalist Nellie Bly began writing for the Pittsburgh Dispatch in 1885. Seaman died in 1904. 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. 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. 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. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). In 1889, the paper sent her on a trip around the world in a record-setting 72 days. How many siblings did Mary Livermore have? "[18] She then traveled to Mexico to serve as a foreign correspondent, spending nearly half a year reporting on the lives and customs of the Mexican people; her dispatches later were published in book form as Six Months in Mexico. How many siblings did Sojourner Truth have? "Nellie Bly." Nellie Bly - Wikipedia For a time, she was one of the leading women industrialists in the United States. In 1887, Bly stormed into the office of the New York World, one of the leading newspapers in the country. She had several siblings and half-siblings. Bly later enrolled at the Indiana Normal School, a small college in Indiana, Pennsylvania, where she studied to become a teacher. Bly not only accepted the challenge, she decided to feign mental illness to gain admission and expose firsthand how patients were treated. How many siblings did Elizabeth Blackwell have? 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 . She moved back to Pittsburgh to help her mother run a boarding house. However, not long after beginning her courses there, financial constraints forced Bly to table her hopes for higher education. Before becoming an investigative journalist and travelling around the world in 72 days,. Fashion Philosophy Special: Nellie Bly - College Fashion Madden immediately offered her a job as a columnist. Her plan was to graduate and find a position as a teacher. 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. The editor, Joseph Pulitzer, declined that story, but he challenged Bly to investigate one of New Yorks most notorious mental asylums, Blackwells Island. It shed light on the disturbing living condition of patients, the neglect on part of the authorities and the physical abuse meted out to patients. Death date: January 27, 1922. Michael Cochran began his career in the mills outside Pittsburgh, until he was able to earn enough to buy the mill. [12][11][13] The editor, George Madden, was impressed with her passion and ran an advertisement asking the author to identify herself. How many siblings did Cleopatra VII have? She stayed up all night to give herself the wide-eyed look of a disturbed woman and began making accusations that the other boarders were insane. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nellie-Bly, Spartacus Educational - Biography of Nellie Bly, Social Welfare History Project - Biography of Nellie Bly, The MY HERO Project - Biography of Nellie Bly, National Women's History Museum - Biography of Nellie Bly, Nellie Bly - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), Nellie Blys Book: Around the World in Seventy-two Days. Between 1889 and 1895, Nellie Bly also penned twelve novels for The New York Family Story Paper. Nellie Bly was a journalist at a time when there were very few women in the workforce. One of the protagonist's adventures in the 2003 film "The Adventures of Ociee Nash" is meeting Nellie Bly (Donna Wright) on a train. [36], Bly was, however, an inventor in her own right, receiving U.S. Patent 697,553 for a novel milk can and U.S. Patent 703,711 for a stacking garbage can, both under her married name of Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman. Nellie Bly - Story, Timeline & Facts - Biography 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. Oportunidades Iguales Para Las Mujeres En El Trabajo y La Educaccion, Womens Strike for Equality, New York, Fifth Avenue, 1970, Eugene Gordon photograph collection, 1970-1990. Astrological Sign: Taurus, Death Year: 1922, Death date: January 27, 1922, Death State: New York, Death City: New York, Death Country: United States, Article Title: Nellie Bly Biography, Author: Biography.com Editors, Website Name: The Biography.com website, Url: https://www.biography.com/activist/nellie-bly, Publisher: A&E Television Networks, Last Updated: April 19, 2021, Original Published Date: April 2, 2014. How many siblings did Rosalind Franklin have? How many siblings did Mother Teresa have? Elizabeth marched into the Dispatch offices and introduced herself. It was initially published as a series of articles for the New York World. 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. Her mother was from a wealthy Pittsburgh family. Life Story: Elizabeth Cochrane, aka Nellie Bly (1864-1922) World-Traveling Journalist and Muckraker The story of an investigative journalist who used her career to shed light on the horrors of urban life and break gender stereotypes. When Elizabeth Cochran began in journalism in 1885, it was considered inappropriate for a woman to write under her own name. Just two years after reviving her writing career, on January 27, 1922, Bly died from pneumonia in New York City. It was one of the few things that helped set her apart from her 14 siblings. In 1888, inspired by Jules Vernes 1873 novel Around the World in Eighty Days, Bly aimed to turn the fictional tale into reality. The Historic New Orleans Collection, acc. Her time was 72 days 6 hours 11 minutes 14 seconds. After a ten-day stay at the asylum, it was at the behest of the newspaper that Bly was freed. In 1887 Cochrane left Pittsburgh for New York City and went to work for Joseph Pulitzers New York World. Elizabeths investigations brought attention to inequalities and often motivated others to take action. Robert was a millionaire who owned the Iron Clad Manufacturing Company and the American Steel Barrel Company. Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story: Directed by Karen Moncrieff. [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. Her illustrious career also included a headline-making journey around the world, running an oil manufacturing firm, and reporting on World War I from Europe. Elizabeth Jane Cochran, a.k.a. Bly went on to patent several inventions related to oil manufacturing, many of which are still used today. Born In: Cochrans Mills, Pennsylvania, United States. How many siblings did Marie Antoinette have? Lutes, Jean Marie. [14] Her second article, "Mad Marriages", was about how divorce affected women. Elizabeth had fourteen siblings. How many siblings did Lucretia Garfield have? How many siblings does Katherine Johnson have? In it, she argued for reform of divorce laws. [42] Bly was one of four journalists honored with a US postage stamp in a "Women in Journalism" set in 2002. How many siblings did Coretta Scott King have? 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. Bly, Nellie. In the piece, writer Erasmus Wilson (known to Dispatch readers as the "Quiet Observer," or Q.O.) How many children did Laura Ingalls Wilder have? Her reporting on life in the asylum shocked the public and led to increased funding to improve conditions in the institution. Jonathan J Chandler (1848-1903) FamilySearch She was satisfied to know that her work led to change. Still only 21, she was determined "to do something no girl has done before. [26] She was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York City. How many siblings did Patricia Bath have? How Nellie Bly went undercover to expose abuse of the mentally ill Ten Little-Known Facts about Nellie Bly - Tonya Mitchell Answer and Explanation: Nellie Bly had 14 siblings (10 half-siblings; 4 full blooded siblings). [39] Bly was the first woman and one of the first foreigners to visit the war zone between Serbia and Austria. How many siblings did Mary McLeod Bethune have. She was arrested when she was mistaken for a British spy. How many sisters did Ernest Shackleton have? 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. As was the trend then, women writers wrote under pen names. [24] She had a significant impact on American culture and shed light on the experiences of marginalized women beyond the bounds of the asylum as she ushered in the era of stunt girl journalism. Young Elizabeth attended boarding school but just for a term before dropping out due to insufficient funds. Her father, Michael Cochran, owned a lucrative mill and served as associate justice of Armstrong County. 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. At a time when a womans contribution to a newspaper was generally confined to the womens pages, Cochrane was given a rare opportunity to report on wider issues. Furthermore, her hands-on approach to reporting developed into a practice now called investigative journalism. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/nellie-bly-9296.php. How many sisters did Susan B. Anthony have? All Rights Reserved. How many siblings did Queen Elizabeth I have? Her favorite color is pink. of Congress. Faced with such dwindling finances, Bly consequently re-entered the newspaper industry. On train, ship, rickshaw, horse, and donkey . Elizabeth Cochran Seaman (born Elizabeth Jane Cochran; May 5, 1864 January 27, 1922), better known by her pen name Nellie Bly, was an American journalist, 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 expos in which she worked undercover to report on a mental institution from within. Her New York debut, at age 23, was a harrowing two-part expos of the Woman's Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell's (now Roosevelt) Island for which she had feigned insanity and fooled a battalion of Bellevue doctors and curious reporters from competing papers to get inside. The students will discuss diversity within the economics profession and in the federal government, and the functions of the Federal Reserve System and U. S. monetary policy, by reviewing a historic timeline and analyzing the acts of Janet Yellen. 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. Between 1889 and 1895 she wrote eleven novels. It was no mere armchair observation, because Bly got herself committed . How many children did Coretta Scott King have? How many brothers and sisters did Amelia Earhart have? Most of Blys early works revolved around the negative consequences of sexist ideologies and emphasized the importance of women's rights issues. Inside Nellie Bly's 10 Days in a Madhouse - Biography [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. She went undercover to expose an insane asylums horrors. Just over seventy-two days after her departure from Hoboken, Bly was back in New York. Kroeger, Brooke. Her father had ten children from his first marriage and five children from his second marriage to Elizabeths mother, Mary Jane Kennedy. In early 2019, Lifetime released a thriller based on Bly's experience as an undercover reporter in a women's mental ward. How many siblings did Nellie Bly have? | Homework.Study.com Engraving. The editor chose "Nellie Bly", after the African-American title character in the popular song "Nelly Bly" by Stephen Foster. How many siblings did Rachel Carson have? Blys husband died in 1903, leaving her in control of the massive Iron Clad Manufacturing Company and American Steel Barrel Company. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. How many children did Catherine Parr have? 2022. 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). Our experts can answer your tough homework and study questions. 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. She also interviewed and wrote pieces on several prominent figures of the time, including Emma Goldman and Susan B. Anthony. NASA on The Commons, via flickr, Home / Modernizing America, 1889-1920 / Modern Womanhood / Life Story: Nellie Bly. National Women's History Museum, 2022. 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. 2022. www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/nellie-bly. [11], As a writer, Nellie Bly focused her early work for the Pittsburgh Dispatch on the lives of working women, writing a series of investigative articles on women factory workers. Collection of the New-York Historical Society. 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. Unknown photographer, A Typical Boomer Family, ca. [19] When Mexican authorities learned of Bly's report, they threatened her with arrest, prompting her to flee the country. When she returned, she was again assigned to the society page and promptly quit in protest. Her report on the horrifyingly conditions inside the asylum led to numerous reforms in the living condition of the mental patients. The high point of Cochranes career at the World began on November 14, 1889, when she sailed from New York to beat the record of Phileas Fogg, hero of Jules Vernes romance Around the World in Eighty Days. [57], Bly has been the subject of two episodes of the Comedy Central series Drunk History. Second, she wanted to prove that women were capable of traveling just as well asif not better thanmen. "Bly, Nellie (1864-1922), reporter and manufacturer. copyright 2003-2023 Homework.Study.com. But her negligence, and embezzlement by a factory manager, resulted in the Iron Clad Manufacturing Co. going bankrupt. Chapultepec Castle, Mexico City. Ten Days in a Mad-House is a book by American journalist Nellie Bly. While in charge of the company, Bly put her social reforms into action and Iron Clad employees enjoyed several perks unheard of at the time, including fitness gyms, libraries and healthcare. How many children did Anne Hutchinson have? 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. 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. New York: Crown, 1994. She was one of 15 children. She completed the trip in 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes and 14 seconds, setting a new world record. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. With Christina Ricci, Judith Light, Josh Bowman, Anja Savcic. episode "Jack's Back". She became one the leading women industrialists in the US and was the inventor of a novel milk can and a stacking garbage can, holding the patents for both. It was for the Dispatch that she began using the pen name Nellie Bly, borrowed from a popular Stephen Foster song. Blys successful career reached new heights in 1889 when she decided to travel around the world after reading the popular book by Jules Verne, Around the World in 80 Days. Bolstered by continuous coverage in the World, Bly earned international stardom for her months-long stunt, and her fame continued to grow after she safely returned to her native state and her record-setting achievement was announced. Her trip around the world in 72 days brought her even further fame. 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. Nellie Bly Baker - Wikipedia Nellie Bly was never one to sit idle while the world rushed by. 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. This is a short thirty-minute lesson on Frances Ellen Watkins Harper. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Freedom Forum: "Nellie Bly's Forgotten Sisters" - Brooke Kroeger How many children did Abigail Adams have? She faced rejection after rejection as news editors would not consider hiring a woman. Nellie Bly's stint in the facility wasn't necessarily how she envisioned making a name for herself. 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. New-York Historical Society. In a tribute after her death, the acclaimed newspaper editor Arthur Brisbane remembered Bly as the best reporter in America., Kroeger, Brooke. In 188687 she traveled for several months through Mexico, sending back reports on official corruption and the condition of the poor. Cochran's Mills, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, Burrell Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story, An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster, "She went undercover to expose an insane asylum's horrors.