How many siblings did Emily Dickinson 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. 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. Michael had 10 children with his first wife, and he had 5 children with his second wife.
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. 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. 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. She had circumnavigated the globe, traveling alone for almost the entire journey. When Bly was six, her father died suddenly and without a will. How many siblings did Queen Liliuokalani have? Nellie Bly Lesson for Kids: Biography & Facts. 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. How many sisters did Susan B. Anthony have? [69], The board game Round the World with Nellie Bly created in 1890 is named in recognition of her trip. 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. Nellie Bly was a nationally significant journalist at the New York World. When Robert died in 1904, Elizabeth briefly took over as president of his companies. 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. How many siblings did Mary Todd Lincoln have? [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. She recounted her adventures in her final book, Around the World in 72 Days. Elizabeth Cochran (she later added a final e to Cochran) received scant formal schooling. Elizabeth had fourteen siblings. Faced with such dwindling finances, Bly consequently re-entered the newspaper industry. 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. Kroeger, Brooke. [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. In 1895, Elizabeth retired from writing and married Robert Livingston Seaman. She completed circumnavigating the world in just 72 days and recorded her travel experiences in a book titled Around the World in 72 Days. However, he also misspelled the name, and she became Nellie Bly.. In 1895, Bly married millionaire industrialist Robert Seaman, who was 40 years her senior, and she became legally known as Elizabeth Jane Cochrane Seaman. In business, her curiosity and independent spirit flourished. Brief Life History of Jonathan J 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. Michael had 10 children with his first wife and five more with Mary Jane, who had no prior children. Returning to Pittsburgh, she temporarily continued working for The Pittsburgh Dispatch before leaving for New York City in 1887. (New York, N.Y.), 14 Nov. 1889. Her fathers death when she was quite young had left the Cochran family with meagre means. Oil on canvas. [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. Engraving. When Elizabeth Cochran began in journalism in 1885, it was considered inappropriate for a woman to write under her own name. 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. Cochrans editor chose the name Nelly Bly from a Stephen Foster song. Following her marriage, she retired from journalism and became the president of her husbands Iron Clad Manufacturing Company. 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. Franois (Franz) Fleischbein (artist), Portrait of Betsy, 1837. Ten Days in the Madhouse. 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". New-York Historical Society Library. Her straightforward yet compassionate approach to these issues captivated audiences. [citation needed] Julia Duffy appeared as Bly in the July 10, 1983 Voyagers! Full_Name: Elizabeth Jane Cochran. Bly went on to patent several inventions related to oil manufacturing, many of which are still used today. She is also well-known for making a trip around the world for a record 72 days, beating a fictitious record that had been set by . Nellie Bly was born Elizabeth Jane Cochran on May 5, 1864 in Cochrans Mill, Pennsylvania. 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. There have been claims that Bly invented the barrel,[35] but the inventor was registered as Henry Wehrhahn (U.S.
Nellie Bly | National Women's History Museum New York: Crown, 1994. The Girl Puzzle Monument honoring activist and journalist Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman, pen name Nellie Bly (1864-1922), is a public sculptural installation by American artist Amanda Matthews, CEO/Partner of Prometheus Art Bronze Foundry and Metal Fabrication.The installation is located on the northern tip of Roosevelt Island in Lighthouse Park (named after the Blackwell Island Light) in the New . She wasn't the first woman of her time to join a newsroom, but she was certainly the most. [19] When Mexican authorities learned of Bly's report, they threatened her with arrest, prompting her to flee the country. Nellie started boarding school but had to drop out after only one term since her parents did not have enough money to pay for the school. She also interviewed influential and controversial figures, including Emma Goldman in 1893. How many siblings did Rosalind Franklin have? How many siblings did Coretta Scott King have? Her expos of conditions among the patients, published in the World and later collected in Ten Days in a Mad House (1887), precipitated a grand-jury investigation of the asylum and helped bring about needed improvements in patient care. In 1889, the paper sent her on a trip around the world in a record-setting 72 days. Michael married twice. How many siblings did Emmeline Pankhurst have? Nellie Bly left New York for France on November 14, 1889. [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". Smithsonian Institute Archives Image # SIA 2010-1509. The evening world. no. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). How might Elizabeths position as a woman have helped her investigative reporting? MLA Norwood, Arlisha and Mariana Brandman. In 1911, she returned to journalism as a reporter for the New York Evening Journal. 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. How many brothers and sisters did Jimmy Carter have? [42] Bly was one of four journalists honored with a US postage stamp in a "Women in Journalism" set in 2002. National Women's History Museum. How many siblings did Susan B. Anthony have? Nellie Bly was born Elizabeth Jane Cochran on May 5, 1864 in Cochran's Mill, Pennsylvania. Watch Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story on Lifetime Movie Club. How many children did Laura Ingalls Wilder have? Pace, Lawson. She was inducted as a part of the expert team launched to better the conditions prevailing at the asylum. Lib. Biography: You Need to Know: Agness Underwood. She also became renowned for her investigative and undercover reporting, including posing as a sweatshop worker to expose poor working conditions faced by women. Nellie Bly was the most famous American woman reporter of the 19th century. Unidentified African American woman in uniform, 1861. Bly, Nellie. The column, which appeared in The Dispatch on February 1, 1885, was bylined "Nellie Bly.". Bly not only accepted the challenge, she decided to feign mental illness to gain admission and expose firsthand how patients were treated.
Inside Nellie Bly's 10 Days in a Madhouse - Biography How Nellie Bly went undercover to expose abuse of the mentally ill 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. [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. 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. 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. Activist journalists like Elizabethcommonly known as muckrakerswere an important part of reform movements. Her report was compiled into a book, Ten Days in a Mad-House (1887), and led to lasting institutional reforms. In 1880, the family moved to Pittsburgh where Elizabeth supported her single mother by running a boarding house. [35], That same year, Iron Clad began manufacturing the steel barrel that was the model for the 55-gallon oil drum still in widespread use in the United States. How many siblings did Louisa May Alcott have? The reporter known as Nellie Bly was born Elizabeth Jane Cochran in Cochran's Mills, Pennsylvania, where her father was a mill owner and county judge. Popularly known by her pen name Nellie Bly, Elizabeth Cochran was an American journalist and writer who was a pioneer in the field of investigative journalism. She was 57 years old. 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. Between 1889 and 1895 she wrote eleven novels. Before becoming an investigative journalist and travelling around the world in 72 days, Nellie Bly had a childhood. How many siblings does Bessie Coleman have? The New York World completely supported her ambitious feat. She married millionaire Robert Seaman in 1895, but after his death she suffered financial reverses, and she returned to newspaper work on the New York Journal in 1920. She was one of 15 children. 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. How many siblings did Shirley Chisholm have? [15] "Mad Marriages" was published under the byline of Nellie Bly, rather than "Lonely Orphan Girl". How many children did Catherine Parr have?
Still only 21, she was determined "to do something no girl has done before. How many siblings did Sophie Germain have? In response to an article in the. [14] It was customary for women who were newspaper writers at that time to use pen names. How many children did Abigail Adams have? Unable to maintain the land or their house, Bly's family left Cochran's Mill. 10 Days in a Madhouse: Directed by Timothy Hines. 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. American investigative journalist (18641922), Elizabeth Cochran, "Nellie Bly," aged about 26. [4][5][6] Her father, Michael Cochran, born about 1810, started out as a laborer and mill worker before buying the local mill and most of the land surrounding his family farmhouse. [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]. 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. He had 10 children with his first wife, Catherine Murphy, and 5 more children, including Elizabeth Cochran his thirteenth daughter, with his second wife, Mary Jane Kennedy. Thought lost, these novels were not collected in book form until their re-discovery in 2021.[75]. [74], Cover of the 1890 board game Round the World with Nellie Bly. How many children did Catherine of Aragon have? Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content.
The Girl Puzzle - Wikipedia Elizabeth hoped the massive newspaper industry of New York City would be more open-minded to a female journalist and left Pittsburgh. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division Washington, D.C. McLoughlin Bros., Round the World with Nellie Bly, 1890. 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]. Blys husband died in 1903, leaving her in control of the massive Iron Clad Manufacturing Company and. Bly continued to produce regular exposs on New Yorks ills, such as corruption in the state legislature, unscrupulous employment agencies for domestic workers, and the black market for buying infants. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. 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. Nellie Bly's stint in the facility wasn't necessarily how she envisioned making a name for herself. Alternate titles: Elizabeth Cochran, Elizabeth Cochrane. 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/. How many siblings did Lucretia Garfield have? [49], During the 1990s, playwright Lynn Schrichte wrote and toured Did You Lie, Nellie Bly?, a one-woman show about Bly. How many siblings did Patricia Bath have? How many siblings did Victoria Woodhull have? How many siblings does Katherine Johnson have? [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. From France she went to Italy and Egypt, through South Asia to Singapore and Japan, then to San Francisco and back to New York. NASA on The Commons, via flickr, Home / Modernizing America, 1889-1920 / Modern Womanhood / Life Story: Nellie Bly. 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. In 1887, Bly stormed into the office of the New York World, one of the leading newspapers in the country. 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 image was used on everything from playing cards to board games. 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. We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us! However, Bly became increasingly limited in her work at the Pittsburgh Dispatch after her editors moved her to its women's page, and she aspired to find a more meaningful career. How many siblings did Sojourner Truth have? Quick Quiz: Around The World With Nellie Bly. Elizabeths mother soon remarried, but quickly divorced her second husband because of abuse, and relocated the family to Pittsburgh. 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. [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. Nellie Bly was ousted from Mexico after she ran a series of articles criticizing the Mexican dictator and ruler, Porfirio Diaz. 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. In 1904, when her husband died, Bly took over the reign of the company. Michael Cochran began his career in the mills outside Pittsburgh, until he was able to earn enough to buy the mill. How many brothers and sisters did Amelia Earhart have?
Around the World in 72 Days | American Experience | PBS Her mother remarried but divorced in 1878 due to abuse. Sherwood, D., Gabriel, R., Brescovit, A. D. & Lucas, S. M. (2022). Bly crafted a fiery rebuttal that grabbed the attention of the paper's managing editor, George Madden, who, in turn, offered her a position. Nellie Bly had 14 siblings (10 half-siblings; 4 full blooded siblings). Corrections? In it, she explained that New York City invested more money into care for the mentally ill after her articles were published. Cihak and Zima (photographer), Ida B. Wells-Barnett, ca. The editor, Joseph Pulitzer, declined that story, but he challenged Bly to investigate one of New Yorks most notorious mental asylums, Blackwells Island.
Life Story: Nellie Bly - Women & the American Story 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. 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.