Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Nellie was born on May 5, 1864 in a city called Cochran's Millis in the United States. After her return, she toured the country as a lecturer. Before becoming an investigative journalist and travelling around the world in 72 days, Nellie Bly had a childhood. She had several siblings and half-siblings. 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. 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. 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. Nellie lived on a big farm with her parents Michael Cochran and Mary Kane and her siblings. Smithsonian Institute Archives Image # SIA 2010-1509. Elizabeth Jane Cochran, a.k.a. Unfortunately, Bly did not manage the finances well and fell victim to fraud by employees that led the firm to declare bankruptcy. 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. The evening world. She completed the trip in 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes and 14 seconds, setting a new world record. How Nellie Bly went undercover to expose abuse of the mentally ill Taking on the pen name by which she's best known, after a Stephen Foster song, she sought to highlight the negative consequences of sexist ideologies and the importance of women's rights issues. 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. 2022. www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/nellie-bly. [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. Elizabeth is often described as a muckraker. Thought lost, these novels were not collected in book form until their re-discovery in 2021.[75]. Young Elizabeth attended boarding school but just for a term before dropping out due to insufficient funds. American investigative journalist (18641922), Elizabeth Cochran, "Nellie Bly," aged about 26. "Nellie Bly." How many siblings did Mother Teresa have? MLA Norwood, Arlisha and Mariana Brandman. "Nellie Bly." 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. [74], Cover of the 1890 board game Round the World with Nellie Bly. Toshiko Akiyoshi changed the face of jazz music over her sixty-year career. Brief Life History of Jonathan J 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. 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 marriage was the second one for both Michael and Bly's mother, Mary Jane, who wed after the deaths of their first spouses. 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. Between 1889 and 1895, Nellie Bly also penned twelve novels for The New York Family Story Paper. This is a short thirty-minute lesson on Frances Ellen Watkins Harper. Nellie Bly Baker - Wikipedia 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. [42] Bly was one of four journalists honored with a US postage stamp in a "Women in Journalism" set in 2002. [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. The World built up the story by running daily articles and a guessing contest in which whoever came nearest to naming Cochranes time in circling the globe would get a trip to Europe. Blys successful career reached new heights in 1889 when she decided to travel around the world after reading the popular book by Jules Verne, At the age of 30, Bly married millionaire Robert Seamen and retired from journalism. Unable to maintain the land or their house, Bly's family left Cochran's Mill. How many siblings did Emily Dickinson have? [15] In one report, she protested the imprisonment of a local journalist for criticizing the Mexican government, then a dictatorship under Porfirio Daz. Her father, Michael Cochran, owned a lucrative mill and served as associate justice of Armstrong County. Her world tour made her a celebrity. How many siblings did Anne Sullivan have? How many siblings did Amy Carmichael have? 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 Bly gained international stardom for her world tour stunt that multiplied her fame. 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. claimed that women were best served by conducting domestic duties and called the working woman "a monstrosity." She often exposed the poor working conditions faced by women. Michael Cochrans rise from mill worker to mill owner to judge meant his family lived very comfortably. How many siblings did Queen Victoria have? 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). In 1887, Bly stormed into the office of the, Blys six-part series on her experience in the asylum was called. 1890. 19th Century Journalist Nellie Bly Broke Barriers And Became A - Bust Nellie Bly left New York for France on November 14, 1889. After a ten-day stay at the asylum, it was at the behest of the newspaper that Bly was freed. Returning to Pittsburgh, she temporarily continued working for The Pittsburgh Dispatch before leaving for New York City in 1887. How many siblings did Lucretia Mott have? 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. How many children did Coretta Scott King have? 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. Chien-shiung Wu (1912-1997), professor of physics at Columbia University, 1963. [40], On January 27, 1922, Bly died of pneumonia at St. Mark's Hospital, New York City, aged 57. How many siblings did Dorothy Height have? 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. With an attempt to break the faux record of the character of Phileas Fogg, Bly began her 24, 899 mile journey on November 14, 1889, boarding the Augusta Victoria. 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. "[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. Bly switched back to reporting, later on writing stories on Europe's Eastern Front during World War I and the Woman Suffrage Parade of 1913. Unidentified African American woman in uniform, 1861. Nellie Bly, pseudonym of Elizabeth Cochrane, also spelled Cochran, (born May 5, 1864, Cochran's Mills, Pennsylvania, U.S.died January 27, 1922, New York, New York), American journalist whose around-the-world race against a fictional record brought her world renown. How many brothers and sisters did Harriet Tubman have? 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". Her report on the horrifyingly conditions inside the asylum led to numerous reforms in the living condition of the mental patients. She went undercover to expose an insane asylums horrors. Unknown photographer, A Typical Boomer Family, ca. How many brothers and sisters did Abigail Adams have? How many siblings did Lucretia Garfield have? How many siblings did Mary Livermore have? New-York Historical Society Library. Our experts can answer your tough homework and study questions. 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. Michael had 10 children with his first wife, and he had 5 children with his second wife. How many siblings did Cleopatra VII have? Elizabeth positioned herself as an investigative reporter. In it, she explores the country's people and customs, and even stumbles upon marijuana. Oil on canvas. 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. Franois (Franz) Fleischbein (artist), Portrait of Betsy, 1837. However, not long after beginning her courses there, financial constraints forced Bly to table her hopes for higher education. Pace, Lawson. no. Early in life, she was compelled to speak truth to power when she testified on her mother's behalf against an abusive stepfather. Her plan was to graduate and find a position as a teacher. [15] "Mad Marriages" was published under the byline of Nellie Bly, rather than "Lonely Orphan Girl". [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. The Historic New Orleans Collection, acc. On train, ship, rickshaw, horse, and donkey . Nellie Bly: Around the World in 72 Days. Senator John Heinz History Center. She died of pneumonia on January 27, 1922. At 15, Bly enrolled at the State Normal School in Indiana, Pennsylvania. 1750. [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. [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). siblings: Harry Cummings Cochrane. Here are 10 facts about Nellie Bly. Nicols Enrquez de Vargas (artist), Portrait of Sor Juana Ins de la Cruz, ca. Now Nellie Bly is getting her due. The Washington Post. . National Women's History Museum. In business, her curiosity and independent spirit flourished. [49], During the 1990s, playwright Lynn Schrichte wrote and toured Did You Lie, Nellie Bly?, a one-woman show about Bly. [46] The Girl Puzzle opened to the public in December, 2021. How many siblings did Dorothy Vaughan have? What does that mean, and how did her writing contribute to reform efforts on a variety of issues? Ten Days in a Madhouse: The Woman Who Got Herself Committed Faced with such dwindling finances, Bly consequently re-entered the newspaper industry. Her trip around the world in 72 days brought her even further fame. Astronaut Ellen Ochoa, mission specialist, carries her son Wilson Miles-Ochoa following the STS-96 crew return at Ellington Field. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division Washington, D.C. McLoughlin Bros., Round the World with Nellie Bly, 1890. "Pink Cochrane" was a great name, but almost every woman journalist writing in the 19th century used a pseudonym. 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. It was there that she added an e to her last name, becoming Elizabeth Jane Cochrane. [14] It was customary for women who were newspaper writers at that time to use pen names. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. In early 2019, Lifetime released a thriller based on Bly's experience as an undercover reporter in a women's mental ward. From France she went to Italy and Egypt, through South Asia to Singapore and Japan, then to San Francisco and back to New York. Unfortunately, he died when Elizabeth was only six years old and his fortune was divided among his many children, leaving Elizabeths mother and her children with a small fraction of the wealth they once enjoyed. Elizabeth Bisland - Wikipedia His farm, mill, and the surrounding area became known as "Cochran's Mill" (part of a suburb of Pittsburgh). copyright 2003-2023 Homework.Study.com. 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. In a tribute after her death, the acclaimed newspaper editor Arthur Brisbane remembered Bly as the best reporter in America., Kroeger, Brooke. The New York World published daily updates on her journey and the entire country followed her story. Unable to maintain the land or their house, Blys family left Cochran's Mill. National Women's History Museum. Nellie Bly was an unwavering advocate for social change, a journalistic dynamo, and a force of nature. Nellie Bly tied the nuptial knot in 1895 with the millionaire manufacturer Robert Seaman. 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. In 1889, the paper sent her on a trip around the world in a record-setting 72 days. In 1885, Bly began working as a reporter for the Pittsburgh Dispatch at a rate of $5 per week. Her trip only took 72 days, which set a world record. Into the Madhouse with Nellie Bly: Girl Stunt Reporting in the Late Nineteenth Century America. American Quarterly, 54 no 2. [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. Updates? 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 siblings did Angelina Grimke have? Safely home, she accused Daz of being a tyrannical czar suppressing the Mexican people and controlling the press. Search results for "The Babysitter Chronicles" at Rakuten Kobo. How many blood siblings did Queen Isabella 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. Madden immediately offered her a job as a columnist. 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. One of the protagonist's adventures in the 2003 film "The Adventures of Ociee Nash" is meeting Nellie Bly (Donna Wright) on a train. She was 57 years old. 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. Bernard, Karen. How many sisters did Susan B. Anthony have? [60], Bly has been featured as the protagonist of novels by David Blixt,[61] Marshall Goldberg,[62] Dan Jorgensen,[63] Carol McCleary,[64] Pearry Reginald Teo, Maya Rodale,[65] and Christine Converse. She also became renowned for her investigative and undercover reporting, including posing as a sweatshop worker to expose poor working conditions faced by women. University of Chicago Library, Special Collections Research Center. How many siblings did Louisa May Alcott have? Jarena Lee, 1849. [53] In 2019, the Center for Investigative Reporting released Nellie Bly Makes the News, a short animated biographical film. The editor was so impressed with her writing that he gave her a job. 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. How many siblings did Sojourner Truth have? 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. She only attended one year of boarding school, because the financial burden placed on the family following her father's death forced her to quit school. She went undercover at a factory where she experienced unsafe working conditions, poor wages, and long hours. National Women's History Museum. How many siblings did Zora Neale Hurston have? Nellie Bly Lesson for Kids: Biography & Facts. 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. However, after only a year and a half, Elizabeth ran out of money and could no longer afford the tuition. How many children did Laura Ingalls Wilder have? June 7, 1999. 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. As she became a teenager, she wanted to portray herself as more sophisticated, and she dropped the nickname and changed her surname to "Cochrane". 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). While still working as a writer, Bly died from pneumonia on January 27, 1922. Those words, describing New York City's most notorious mental institution, were written by journalist Nellie Bly in 1887. How many siblings did Mary Todd Lincoln 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. Activist journalists like Elizabethcommonly known as muckrakerswere an important part of reform movements. [16] Cochrane originally intended that her pseudonym be "Nelly Bly", but her editor wrote "Nellie" by mistake, and the error stuck. Elizabeth hoped the massive newspaper industry of New York City would be more open-minded to a female journalist and left Pittsburgh. She recounted her adventures in her final book, Around the World in 72 Days. [17] Madden was impressed again and offered her a full-time job. Quick Quiz: Around The World With Nellie Bly. 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. After the company suffered losses from embezzlement, Bly returned to journalism and reported from Europe during World War I. Covering Mental Health - Journalism in Action However, after his death, the family . The town was founded by her father, Judge Michael Cochran. [32] In 1893, though still writing novels, she returned to reporting for the World. Before becoming an investigative journalist and travelling around the world in 72 days,. How many brothers and sisters did George Washington Carver have? American National Biography. At the age of 30, Bly married millionaire Robert Seamen and retired from journalism. [19] When Mexican authorities learned of Bly's report, they threatened her with arrest, prompting her to flee the country. How many siblings did Frances Hodgson Burnett have? Just two years after reviving her writing career, on January 27, 1922, Bly died from pneumonia in New York City. How many sisters did Charles Dickens have? How has Title IX impacted women in education and sports over the last 5 decades? 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. Furthermore, her hands-on approach to reporting developed into a practice now called investigative journalism.