Two years later, Bly moved to New York City and began working for the New York World. Nellie Bly Makes the News is an inventive and wildly entertaining account of the late reporter’s pioneering work in investigative journalism. 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. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. Read An Excerpt. Journalist Nellie Bly began writing for the Pittsburgh Dispatch in 1885. 10 Famous Zoologists and Their Contributions, The Most Famous Serial Killers In America And Their Twisted Crimes, The 10 Most Populated Countries In The World, The 10 Least Populated Countries In Europe, The 10 Most Populated Countries In Europe. Bly's exposé, published in the World soon after her return to reality, was a massive success. She was 57 years old. He died in 1904, and she took over the Ironclad Manufacturing Co. which made enameled ironware. Nellie Bly was born on May 5, 1864, in Cochran’s Mill which was owned by her father Michael Cochran. Bly wrote about the horrible conditions and her experience at the asylum. After leaving the school, she moved with her mother to the nearby city of Pittsburgh, where they ran a boarding house together. READ MORE: Inside Nellie Bly’s 10 Days in a Madhouse. The article dismissed women’s qualifications, suggesting that their roles were taking care of the house and the children. She was the subject of a Broadway musical and several biographical plays. Amid their grief, Michael's death presented a grave financial detriment to his family, as he left them without a will, and, thus, no legal claim to his estate. by James Buckley Jr Ultimately, the costs of these benefits began to mount and drain her inheritance. Bly accomplished her goal with days to spare, and, as with her experience in the asylum, her report became a book, Around the World in Seventy-Two Days (1890). With this courageous and bold act Bly cemented her … She also interviewed and wrote pieces on several prominent figures of the time, including Emma Goldman and Susan B. Anthony. Nellie Bly is the pen-name of Elizabeth Cochrane, an American journalist born in Pennsylvania in 1864. She traveled alone for most of the journey. Bly suffered a tragic loss in 1870, at the age of six, when her father died suddenly. Nellie Bly would carry out more investigative work across New York, with more stories shedding light on conditions of prisons or factories. Billie Holiday was one of the most influential jazz singers of all time. Oscar winner Kate Winslet has starred in a number of acclaimed films. At the time, female writers mostly used pen names and so she was given the name “Nellie Bly” from the song “Nelly Bly.” Nellie focused on the lives of working women, writing investigative pieces on women working in factories. In 1887, Bly relocated to New York City and began working for the New York World, the publication that later became famously known for spearheading "yellow journalism." She remains notable for two feats: a record-breaking trip around the world in emulation of Jules Verne's character Phileas Fogg, and an exposé in which she faked insanity to study a mental institution from within. He quickly wrote it down. He suddenly died when Bly was six. 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 exposé. Bly died in 1922, with the cause of death being pneumonia. Ida Tarbell was an American journalist best known for her pioneering investigative reporting that led to the breakup of the Standard Oil Company’s monopoly. In 1885, female reporters were expected to write about fashion, shopping, or recipes. Nellie Bly, a journalist, traveler, industrialist, inventor, and philanthropist, left a mark on Western Pennsylvanian and American history that has stretched far beyond the day when she stepped off that train in Jersey City 131 years ago. Her stories created an uproar in New York and a national outcry once … Somehow, the name was accidentally spelled Nellie rather than Nelly. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. The factory owners complained about her writing and she was reassigned to cover women’s fashion and other interest articles. The name "Nellie Bly" comes from a song called "Nelly Bly" by Stephen Foster. Nellie Bly seized the editor’s assignment for a mix of personal and professional reasons. The town was founded by her father, Michael Cochran, who provided for his family by working as a judge and landowner. Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman had no idea that the open letter she'd written to a local newspaper in Pittsburgh in 1885 would change her life forever. All maps, graphics, flags, photos and original descriptions © 2021 worldatlas.com. Bly became a sort of journalistic Robin Hood, exposing the darkest corners of New York City society. Martha Graham is considered by many to be the 20th century's most important dancer and the mother of modern dance. Bly crafted a fiery rebuttal that grabbed the attention of the paper's managing editor, George Madden, who, in turn, offered her a position. Apart from journalism, Nellie was also an industrialist, inventor, and writer. Elizabeth Carmichael promised to revolutionize the automotive industry with a fuel-efficient car called the Dale, but the vehicle was never manufactured. 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 father was a self-taught lawyer who became a judge. Michael had 10 children with his first wife and five more with Mary Jane, who had no prior children. Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought Who Was Benedict Arnold? 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. On the morning of November 14, 1889, Nellie Bly (May 5, 1864–January 27, 1922), an audacious newspaper reporter who had previously risked her life on a trailblazing exposé that forever changed how we treat the mentally ill, set out to outpace Verne’s fictional itinerary by circumnavigating the globe in seventy-five days, thus setting the real-world record for the fastest trip around the world. Although, the editor declined her story he challenged Bly to investigate one of New Yorks most notorious mental hospitals. While facing fraud charges, she was publicly revealed to be a transgender woman. In 1895, Bly married millionaire industrialist Robert Seaman, who was 40 years her senior, and she became legally known as Elizabeth Jane Cochrane Seaman. She soon left her journalism work to help her husband manage his iron manufacturing company. She also became renowned for her investigative and undercover reporting, including posing as a sweatshop worker to expose poor working conditions faced by women. She is best known for her moral support to the British people during WWII and her longevity. She first checked in at Bellevue and was later transferred to Blackwell’s Island. In 1895, Nellie met and married Robert Seaman who was 42 years older than her at the time. Journalist Nellie Bly began writing for the Pittsburgh Dispatch in 1885. Queen Elizabeth was the Queen consort of King George VI until his death in 1952. In 1904 her husband died, and so she took over the reign of her husband’s company, Iron Clad Manufacturing Company. Known for her extraordinary and record-breaking trip around the world and her undercover investigation of a mental institution, Nellie Bly was one of the first female investigative reporters in the United States and a pioneer in the field of journalism. Nellie Bly seated, c. 1922. She soon left for Mexico where she concentrated on reporting the customs and lives of the Mexicans. © 2021 Biography and the Biography logo are registered trademarks of A&E Television Networks, LLC. In 1885, Bly began working as a reporter for the Pittsburgh Dispatch at a rate of $5 per week. She wrote a response to the editor under pseudonym “Lonely Orphan Girl.” The editor was impressed by her writing and offered her an opportunity to write articles for the newspaper. Then, after eight successful (though exhausting) years as a reporter and columnist, she suddenly eloped with Robert Seaman, a multimillionaire forty years her senior. In 1887, Nellie Bly stormed into the office of the New York World, one of the leading newspapers in the country. With Christina Ricci, Judith Light, Josh Bowman, Anja Savcic. Before entering the insane asylum, Nellie spent six months in Mexico writing about the Mexican people. Elizabeth Jane Cochrane was born 13th out of 15 children in a small town in Pennsylvania in 1867. ABOUT WHO WAS NELLIE BLY? A board game was created based on Nellie’s trip, entitled “Around the World with Nellie Bly.” In 2002, Nellie Bly was one of four women journalists honored with a U.S. postage stamp. Her first assignment was to feign insanity to investigate reports of neglect and brutality in asylums. Who Was Nellie Bly? The young Elizabeth was the last of the 15 children and was often called “Pinky” because of her love for pink dresses. Her report was compiled into a book, Ten Days in a Mad-House (1887), and led to lasting institutional reforms. Nellie Bly, Businesswoman Nellie Bly—now Elizabeth Seaman—and her husband settled down, and she took an interest in his business. Watch Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story on Lifetime Movie Club. Nellie Bly’s 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. ‎ Get ready to journey around the world with Nellie Bly--one of America's first investigative journalists. 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). Betty Ford became the First Lady when President Nixon resigned and made her Vice President husband, Gerald Ford, the acting President. Nellie Bly was born on May 5, 1864, in Cochran’s Mill which was owned by her father Michael Cochran. claimed that women were best served by conducting domestic duties and called the working woman "a monstrosity." Writing as Nellie Bly, a pen name taken from a Stephen Foster song, she was a courageous crusader to let herself be committed into an insane asylum with no … Her collections were published in a book titled Six Months in Mexico. She's also known for traveling solo around the world in…. The piece shed light on a number of disturbing conditions at the facility, including neglect and physical abuse, and, along with spawning her book on the subject, ultimately spurred a large-scale investigation of the institution. In it, she explores the country's people and customs, and even stumbles upon marijuana. Nellie Bly was born Elizabeth Jane Cochran in Cochran’s Mills, Pennsylvania. In one of her dispatches, criticized the Mexican authority for imprisoning a journalist, forcing the authorities to expel her from Mexico. Working for Joseph Pulitzer's New York World, Bly gained national fame for her undercover work as a patient in a women's mental asylum in New York City. Her father was also a local judge, postmaster, and a merchant in Cochran Mills, Pennsylvania, which is now part of Burrell Township, Pittsburgh. Directed by Karen Moncrieff. 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 Phileas Fogg. Who Was Nellie Bly and What Was She Famous For? During her early journalism career, Bly wrote Six Months in Mexico (1888), which describes her time as a foreign correspondent in Mexico in 1885. Bly’s mother moved her family to Pittsburgh in 1880. We strive for accuracy and fairness. "Known for her extraordinary and record-breaking trip around the world and her undercover investigation of a mental institution, Nellie Bly was one of the first female investigative reporters in the United States and a pioneer in the field of journalism"-- Bly later enrolled at the Indiana Normal School, a small college in Indiana, Pennsylvania, where she studied to become a teacher. Nellie Bly (May 5, 1864 – January 27, 1922) was the pen name of American pioneer female journalist Elizabeth Jane Cochran. The marriage was the second one for both Michael and Bly's mother, Mary Jane, who wed after the deaths of their first spouses. 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, where she lived for 10 days. 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. Pat Kinsella tells the story of how she achieved this record feat quicker than Jules Verne's imagined gentleman scientist and while racing against a very real rival travelling in the opposite direction However, she could not find newspaper work because she was a woman. Given the green light to try the feat by the New York World, Bly embarked on her journey from Hoboken, New Jersey, in November 1889, traveling first by ship and later also via horse, rickshaw, sampan, burro and other vehicles. 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. Her father died in 1870 when she was only six years, forcing her to drop out of boarding school because of lack of funds. Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun was one of the best-known and most fashionable portraitists of 18th century France; her clients included the queen Marie Antoinette. She had a thriving career for many years before she lost her battle with addiction. Read An Excerpt. Nellie Bly was born in Cochran’s Mills, Pennsylvania, United States. Photo … Margaret Mead was a cultural anthropologist and writer best known for her studies and publications on the subject. Bly followed her Blackwell's exposé 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. Known for her extraordinary and record-breaking trip around the world and her undercover investigation of a mental institution, Nellie Bly was one of the first female investigative reporters in the United States and a pioneer in the field of journalism. Known for her extraordinary and record-breaking trip around the world and her undercover investigation of a mental institution, Nellie Bly was one of the first female investigative reporters in the United States and a pioneer in the field of journalism. She was a trailblazer for women seeking work in the burgeoning newspaper industry in the 19th century but what trials she had to go through to make that happen! A young journalist looks behind the curtain of a nearby mental hospital, only to uncover the grim and gruesome acts they bestow upon their "patients". Upon her husband’s death in 1904, Bly took the helm of his Iron Clad Manufacturing Co. During her time there, she began manufacturing the first practical 55-gallon steel oil drum, which evolved into the standard one used today. Her nickname was “Pinky.” Nellie was one of the pioneers in her field, establishing a new breed of investigative journalism. After Seaman’s death in 1904 when B Bettmann/CORBIS Nellie Bly, circa 1880s-1890s. She would further fill the headlines after commencing on a trip around the world, trying to beat the fictitious record of Jules Verner’s character Phileas Fogg. 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. Get ready to journey around the world with Nellie Bly—one of America's first investigative journalists.