Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. When Bly was six, her father died suddenly and without a will. It was one of the few things that helped set her apart from her 14 siblings. After the company suffered losses from embezzlement, Bly returned to journalism and reported from Europe during World War I. She faced rejection after rejection as news editors would not consider hiring a woman. 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. During her travels around the world, she went through England, France, Brindisi, the Suez Canal, Colombo, the Straits Settlements of Penang and Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan. "[22] She refused to go to bed and eventually scared so many of the other boarders that the police were called to take her to the nearby courthouse. 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. Thought lost, these novels were not collected in book form until their re-discovery in 2021.[75]. Search results for "The Babysitter Chronicles" at Rakuten Kobo. One can only speculate what further triumphs and good deeds this remarkable woman might have achieved if only she lived a few years longer. Nellie Bly was born on May 5, 1864 in Cochran Mill, Pennsylvania. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. Who Was Nellie Bly and What Was She Famous For? - WorldAtlas 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. 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. National Women's History Museum. Bly crafted a fiery rebuttal that grabbed the attention of the paper's managing editor, George Madden, who, in turn, offered her a position. The park reopened in 2007[71] under new management, renamed "Adventurers Amusement Park". Before becoming an investigative journalist and travelling around the world in 72 days,. The second-season episode "New York City" featured her undercover exploits in the Blackwell's Island asylum,[58] while the third-season episode "Journalism" retold the story of her race around the world against Elizabeth Bisland.[59]. Nellie Bly was born Elizabeth Jane Cochran on May 5, 1864 in Cochran's Mill, Pennsylvania. Elizabeth knew that she would need to support herself financially. How many siblings did Eleanor of Aquitaine have? Journalist Nellie Bly began writing for the Pittsburgh Dispatch in 1885. While still working as a writer, Bly died from pneumonia on January 27, 1922. Within her lifetime, Nellie Bly published three non-fiction books (compilations of her newspaper reportage) and one novel in book form. 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. 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. How many siblings did Sophie Germain have? June 7, 1999. Date accessed. Nellie Bly: Daredevil, Reporter, Feminist. How many siblings did Cleopatra VII have? 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. 1. This prompted Elizabeth to write a response under the pseudonym "Lonely Orphan Girl". Bly's future began to look brighter in the early 1880s, when, at the age of 18, she submitted a racy response to an editorial piece that had been published in the Pittsburgh Dispatch. But Bly held the record for only a few months before it was broken by businessman George Francis Train who completed the journey in 67 days. How many siblings did Emily Dickinson have? All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. 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. When Elizabeth Cochran began in journalism in 1885, it was considered inappropriate for a woman to write under her own name. For a time, she was one of the leading women industrialists in the United States. 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. 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. MLA Norwood, Arlisha and Mariana Brandman. How many siblings did Mary Todd Lincoln have? Print Page Nellie Bly Nellie Bly, c. 1890. How many siblings did Susan B. Anthony have? Her father had ten children from his first marriage and five children from his second marriage to Elizabeths mother, Mary Jane Kennedy. Fashion Philosophy Special: Nellie Bly - College Fashion Smithsonian Institute Archives Image # SIA 2010-1509. Nellie's father was a successful businessman and a good parent to Nellie and her four siblings. She went undercover to expose an insane asylums horrors. A number of positive changes were made after the release of the book. In 1888, inspired by Jules Vernes 1873 novel Around the World in Eighty Days, Bly aimed to turn the fictional tale into reality. She met Jules Verne at his home in France. Returning to Pittsburgh, she temporarily continued working for The Pittsburgh Dispatch before leaving for New York City in 1887. One of the protagonist's adventures in the 2003 film "The Adventures of Ociee Nash" is meeting Nellie Bly (Donna Wright) on a train. It was for the Dispatch that she began using the pen name Nellie Bly, borrowed from a popular Stephen Foster song. Bly later compiled the articles into a book, being published by Ian L. Munro in New York City in 1887. Shop eBooks and audiobooks at Rakuten Kobo. Unscrupulous employees bilked the firm of hundreds of thousands of dollars, troubles compounded by protracted and costly bankruptcy litigation. Elizabeth positioned herself as an investigative reporter. She began working for the New York Evening Journal in 1920 and reported on numerous events, including the growing womens suffrage movement. The show ran for 16 performances. [49], During the 1990s, playwright Lynn Schrichte wrote and toured Did You Lie, Nellie Bly?, a one-woman show about 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. Elizabeths report about Blackwells Island earned her a permanent position as an investigative journalist for the World. Her time was 72 days 6 hours 11 minutes 14 seconds. On train, ship, rickshaw, horse, and donkey . The editor, Joseph Pulitzer, declined that story, but he challenged Bly to investigate one of New Yorks most notorious mental asylums, Blackwells Island. episode "Jack's Back". How many children did Anne Hutchinson have? 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 72-day trip around the world. Nellie Bly - Wikipedia 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. The story of Nellie Bly, a female journalist who willingly got herself admitted to an insane asylum in 1890s New York so she could write about the experience and expose the injustices. At the age of 30, Bly married millionaire Robert Seamen and retired from journalism. The column, which appeared in The Dispatch on February 1, 1885, was bylined "Nellie Bly.". [67], A fictionalized account of Bly's around-the-world trip was used in the 2010 comic book Julie Walker Is The Phantom published by Moonstone Books (Story: Elizabeth Massie, art: Paul Daly, colors: Stephen Downer). The Girl Puzzle - Wikipedia 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. She wanted to write a story on the immigrant experience in the United States. [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. 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. Alternate titles: Elizabeth Cochran, Elizabeth Cochrane. [40], On January 27, 1922, Bly died of pneumonia at St. Mark's Hospital, New York City, aged 57. She was a pioneer in investigative journalism. How many siblings did Mother Teresa have? To what extent did Elizabeths trip around the world redefine ideas of what it meant to be a woman? Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story (TV Movie 2019) - IMDb 1890. Collection of the New-York Historical Society. How many siblings did Wilma Rudolph have? How many siblings did Marie Antoinette have? Ten Little-Known Facts about Nellie Bly - Tonya Mitchell Corrections? Elizabeth traveled light, taking only the dress she wore, a cape, and a small travelers bag. 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/. Lib. 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 1904, when her husband died, Bly took over the reign of the company. As a child she wore it so often she was nicknamed Pinky. How many siblings did Ruth Bader Ginsburg have? This article was most recently revised and updated by, 8 of Nellie Bly's Most Sensational Stories. Between 1889 and 1895 she wrote eleven novels. For the same, she feigned insanity to get into the asylum and have a first-hand experience of the treatment meted out to patients. Baker's career as an actress took place from 1921-1934 and she performed in 13 films. How many siblings did Anne Sullivan have? The marriage was the second one for both Michael and Bly's mother, Mary Jane, who wed after the deaths of their first spouses. Madden immediately offered her a job as a columnist. "Bly, Nellie (1864-1922), reporter and manufacturer. [2], Elizabeth Jane Cochran was born May 5, 1864,[3] in "Cochran's Mills", now part of Burrell Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. There have been claims that Bly invented the barrel,[35] but the inventor was registered as Henry Wehrhahn (U.S. Died: January 27, 1922, New York City, NY. of Congress. Elizabeths boss did not want to anger Pittsburghs elite and quickly reassigned her as a society columnist. Nicols Enrquez de Vargas (artist), Portrait of Sor Juana Ins de la Cruz, ca. Elizabeth Cochran (she later added a final e to Cochran) received scant formal schooling. How many children did Abigail Adams have? 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. [66] David Blixt also appeared on a March 10, 2021 episode of the podcast Broads You Should Know as a Nellie Bly expert. Patents 808,327 and 808,413). "Bly, Nellie (1864-1922), reporter and manufacturer." Nellie Bly biography for kids - Lottie.com .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? How many siblings did Victoria Woodhull have? As was the trend then, women writers wrote under pen names. Biography of Nellie Bly, Investigative Journalist, World Traveler. [32] In 1893, though still writing novels, she returned to reporting for the World. Nellie Bly gained international stardom for her world tour stunt that multiplied her fame. His farm, mill, and the surrounding area became known as "Cochran's Mill" (part of a suburb of Pittsburgh). Abrams is now one of the most prominent African American female politicians in the United States. 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). She died of pneumonia on January 27, 1922. Bly told the assistant matron: "There are so many crazy people about, and one can never tell what they will do. http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/bly/madhouse/madhouse.html, Janet Yellen: The Progress of Women and Minorities in the Field of Economics, Elinor Lin Ostrom, Nobel Prize Economist, Chronicles of American Women: Your History Makers, Women Writing History: A Coronavirus Journaling Project, We Who Believe in Freedom: Black Feminist DC, Learning Resources on Women's Political Participation, https://doi.org/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1601472, https://wams.nyhistory.org/modernizing-america/modern-womanhood/nellie-bly/, www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/nellie-bly, https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/07/28/she-went-undercover-expose-an-insane-asylums-horrors-now-nellie-bly-is-getting-her-due/, https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/learn/women-forging-way/nellie-bly-around-the-world. She was one of 15 children. At a time when women reporters were generally restricted to womens page reporting, Bly covered wider issues beyond just gardening or lifestyle and concentrated on slum life and other important topics. Unable to maintain the land or their house, Blys family left Cochran's Mill. She uncovered the abuse of women by male police officers, identified an employment agency that was stealing from immigrants, and exposed corrupt politicians. New-York Historical Society. 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. When Cochrane introduced herself to the editor, he offered her the opportunity to write a piece for the newspaper, again under the pseudonym "Lonely Orphan Girl". 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. The newspapers editor, George Madden, saw potential in her piece and invited her to work for the Dispatch as a reporter. Pace, Lawson. Her work, which was later reprinted as a book titled Ten Days in a Mad House spurred a large-scale investigation of the institution as well as the much-needed improvements in health care. Nellie Bly: Around the World in 72 Days. Senator John Heinz History Center. Just over seventy-two days after her departure from Hoboken, Bly was back in New York. Also around this time, she retired from journalism, and by all accounts, the couple enjoyed a happy marriage. A misogynistic column in the daily, The Pittsburgh Dispatch, prompted her to pen a fiery rebuttal to the editor under the pseudonym Lonely Orphan Girl. Such was the impression of her writing that it won her a full-time employment with the newspaper. She had several siblings and half-siblings. Seaman died in 1904, and Bly took over his firm, the Iron Clad Manufacturing Company. 2022. www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/nellie-bly. Around the World in 72 Days | American Experience | PBS 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. Biography: You Need to Know: Agness Underwood. In 1887 Cochrane left Pittsburgh for New York City and went to work for Joseph Pulitzers New York World. How many siblings did Nellie Bly have? | Homework.Study.com Michael married twice. Remembering Nellie Bly, Rabblerouser and Pioneer of Investigative Sherwood, D., Gabriel, R., Brescovit, A. D. & Lucas, S. M. (2022). 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. [56], Bly was also a subject of Season 2 Episode 5 of The West Wing in which First Lady Abbey Bartlet dedicates a memorial in Pennsylvania in honor of Nellie Bly and convinces the president to mention her and other female historic figures during his weekly radio address. How many siblings did Deborah Sampson have? Her reporting on life in the asylum shocked the public and led to increased funding to improve conditions in the institution. A progressive social reformer and activist, Jane Addams was on the frontline of the settlement house movement and was the first American woman to wina Nobel Peace Prize. In 1887, at age 23, reporter Nellie Bly, working for Joseph Pulitzer, feigns mental illness to go undercover in notorious Blackwell's Island a woman's insane asylum to expose corruption, abuse and murder. She also interviewed and wrote pieces on several prominent figures of the time, including Emma Goldman and Susan B. Anthony. Abigail Adams was an early advocate for women's rights. All Rights Reserved. Bly not only accepted the challenge, she decided to feign mental illness to gain admission and expose firsthand how patients were treated.