Nellie Bly PBS: American Experience, Accessed 23 March 23, 2017 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/world/peopleevents/pande01.html, Life Story: Elizabeth Cochrane, aka Nellie Bly (1864-1922), Women & The American Story, New-York Historical Society Library and Museum, https://wams.nyhistory.org/modernizing-america/modern-womanhood/nellie-bly/. 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. The majority of her writings were literary works. In the piece, writer Erasmus Wilson (known to Dispatch readers as the "Quiet Observer," or Q.O.) Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. 19th Century Journalist Nellie Bly Broke Barriers And Became A - Bust 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. Thought lost, these novels were not collected in book form until their re-discovery in 2021.[75]. 2022. She also interviewed and wrote pieces on several prominent figures of the time, including Emma Goldman and Susan B. Anthony. 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. Robert was a millionaire who owned the Iron Clad Manufacturing Company and the American Steel Barrel Company. 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. In it, she explores the country's people and customs, and even stumbles upon marijuana. 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. Bly not only accepted the challenge, she decided to feign mental illness to gain admission and expose firsthand how patients were treated. Following her marriage, she retired from journalism and became the president of her husband's Iron Clad Manufacturing Company. Elizabeths writing career started abruptly and unintentionally. 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. She was inducted as a part of the expert team launched to better the conditions prevailing at the asylum. Nellie Bly was a nationally significant journalist at the New York World. Our experts can answer your tough homework and study questions. 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. 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 Nellie Bly, c. 1890. The newspapers editor, George Madden, saw potential in her piece and invited her to work for the Dispatch as a reporter. First, she wanted to beat the record set in the popular fictional world tour from Jules Vernes Around the World in Eighty Days. In 1885, Bly began working as a reporter for the Pittsburgh Dispatch at a rate of $5 per week. PDF The Sibling Society Robert Bly - Spenden.medair.org Elizabeth knew that she would need to support herself financially. 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". How many siblings did Queen Liliuokalani have? To escape writing about womens issues on the society page, Elizabeth volunteered to travel to Mexico. In 1887, Bly stormed into the office of the New York World, one of the leading newspapers in the country. Michael Cochran began his career in the mills outside Pittsburgh, until he was able to earn enough to buy the mill. How many siblings did Eleanor Roosevelt have? Quick Quiz: Around The World With Nellie Bly. In 1889, the paper sent her on a trip around the world in a record-setting 72 days. Bly, Nellie. [39] Bly was the first woman and one of the first foreigners to visit the war zone between Serbia and Austria. 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. She published her articles in a book titled 10 Days in A Mad House. Elizabeths investigations brought attention to inequalities and often motivated others to take action. Unscrupulous employees bilked the firm of hundreds of thousands of dollars, troubles compounded by protracted and costly bankruptcy litigation. How Nellie Bly went undercover to expose abuse of the mentally ill 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. June 7, 1999. She left the newspaper industry after her marriage to serve as the president of her husbands company, Iron Clad Manufacturing Co. As a social reformer she gave over-the-top perks to her employees but the scheme cost the company so dearly that it went bankrupt. Religious Experience and Journal of Mrs. Jarena Lee: giving an account of her call to preach the gospel, frontispiece. 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. Michael married twice. "On the species of Pamphobeteus Pocock, 1901 deposited in the Natural History Museum, London, with redescriptions of type material, the first record of P. grandis Bertani, Fukushima & Silva, 2008 from Peru, and the description of four new species". 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. 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. Male 4 November 1848-29 June 1903 LHVT-N79. She began her career in 1885 in her native Pennsylvania as a reporter for the Pittsburgh Dispatch, to which she had sent an angry letter to the editor in response to an article the newspaper had printed entitled What Girls Are Good For (not much, according to the article). She was six years old when her beloved father died without warning, and without a will, plunging his once wealthy and respected family into poverty and shame. Nellie Bly married manufacturer Robert Seaman in 1895. How many siblings did Anne Sullivan have? [16] Cochrane originally intended that her pseudonym be "Nelly Bly", but her editor wrote "Nellie" by mistake, and the error stuck. In business, her curiosity and independent spirit flourished. Bly's expos, published in the World soon after her return to reality, was a massive success. This article was most recently revised and updated by, 8 of Nellie Bly's Most Sensational Stories. http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/bly/madhouse/madhouse.html. Once examined by a police officer, a judge, and a doctor, Bly was taken to Blackwell's Island. Nellie Bly was ousted from Mexico after she ran a series of articles criticizing the Mexican dictator and ruler, Porfirio Diaz. 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. In response to an article in the. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). She often exposed the poor working conditions faced by women. 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. She lived there as an international correspondent for the Dispatch for six months. 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. 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. Bly told the assistant matron: "There are so many crazy people about, and one can never tell what they will do. 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. Her real name was Elizabeth Jane Cochrane; Nellie Bly was her pen name and the name under which she is most well-known. How many siblings did Patricia Bath have? Nellie Bly's stint in the facility wasn't necessarily how she envisioned making a name for herself. From France she went to Italy and Egypt, through South Asia to Singapore and Japan, then to San Francisco and back to New York. With Christina Ricci, Judith Light, Josh Bowman, Anja Savcic. [46] The Girl Puzzle opened to the public in December, 2021. The story of an investigative journalist who used her career to shed light on the horrors of urban life and break gender stereotypes. "Pink Cochrane" was a great name, but almost every woman journalist writing in the 19th century used a pseudonym. [48], Bly was the subject of the 1946 Broadway musical Nellie Bly by Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Heusen. Nellie Bly: Daredevil, Reporter, Feminist. 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. Smithsonian Institute Archives Image # SIA 2010-1509. History 101: Nellie Bly. Full_Name: Elizabeth Jane Cochran. In 1904, when her husband died, Bly took over the reign of the company. [40], On January 27, 1922, Bly died of pneumonia at St. Mark's Hospital, New York City, aged 57. Kroeger, Brooke. Chien-shiung Wu (1912-1997), professor of physics at Columbia University, 1963. Bly later compiled the articles into a book, being published by Ian L. Munro in New York City in 1887. Christina Ricci starred as Bly and Transparent's Judith Light played the role of the head nurse. Bly suffered a tragic loss in 1870, at the age of six, when her father died suddenly. Ten Days in a Madhouse: The Woman Who Got Herself Committed How many siblings does Bessie Coleman have? on New Yorks ills, such as corruption in the state legislature, unscrupulous employment agencies for domestic workers, and the black market for buying infants. [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. Due to the familys financial struggles, she left the school after one term and soon moved with her mother to Pittsburgh, where her two older brothers had settled. In this lesson, students will experience the tragedy of the commons through a team activity in which they compete for resources. Bly later enrolled at the Indiana Normal School, a small college in Indiana, Pennsylvania, where she studied to become a teacher. When Bly was six, her father died suddenly and without a will. Nellie Bly was born on May 5, 1864 in Cochran Mill, Pennsylvania. Seaman died in 1904, and Bly took over his firm, the Iron Clad Manufacturing Company. Women in Art and Literature: Who Said It? 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. Blys husband died in 1903, leaving her in control of the massive Iron Clad Manufacturing Company and American Steel Barrel Company. no. Activist journalists like Elizabethcommonly known as muckrakerswere an important part of reform movements. Elizabeths report about Blackwells Island earned her a permanent position as an investigative journalist for the World. 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. Born Elizabeth Cochran Seaman, Nellie Bly grew up in Pennsylvania in an area that is now a suburb of Pittsburgh. Pace, Lawson. Unable to maintain the land or their house, Bly's family left Cochran's Mill. NASA on The Commons, via flickr, Home / Modernizing America, 1889-1920 / Modern Womanhood / Life Story: 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). Nellie Bly gained international stardom for her world tour stunt that multiplied her fame. [45] The winning proposal, The Girl Puzzle by Amanda Matthews, was announced on October 16, 2019. [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. When Bly was six, her father died suddenly and without a will. Bly, Nellie (1864-1922) - Social Welfare History Project Into the Madhouse with Nellie Bly: Girl Stunt Reporting in the Late Nineteenth Century America. American Quarterly, 54 no 2. [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. On May 5, 2015, the Google search engine produced an interactive "Google Doodle" for Bly; for the "Google Doodle" Karen O wrote, composed, and recorded an original song about Bly, and Katy Wu created an animation set to Karen O's music. 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. The column, which appeared in The Dispatch on February 1, 1885, was bylined "Nellie Bly.". [citation needed] Julia Duffy appeared as Bly in the July 10, 1983 Voyagers! How many brothers and sisters did Harriet Tubman have? Elizabeth Bisland - Wikipedia 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 began working for the New York Evening Journal in 1920 and reported on numerous events, including the growing womens suffrage movement. 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. However, the newspaper soon received complaints from factory owners about her writing, and she was reassigned to women's pages to cover fashion, society, and gardening, the usual role for women journalists, and she became dissatisfied. Returning to Pittsburgh, she temporarily continued working for The Pittsburgh Dispatch before leaving for New York City in 1887. 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. 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. Life Story: Nellie Bly - Women & the American Story After ten days, the asylum released Bly at The World's behest. How many brothers and sisters did Theodore Roosevelt have? Between 1889 and 1895, Nellie Bly also penned twelve novels for The New York Family Story Paper. Nellie Bly: The Journalist Who Pretended To Be Insane To Get Into A She was far and away the best-known woman journalist of her day. Nellie Bly, was one of fourteen siblings growing up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. New-York Historical Society Library. Does Nellie have any. 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). Baker's career as an actress took place from 1921-1934 and she performed in 13 films. She went undercover to expose an insane asylums horrors. The town was founded by her father, Michael Cochran, who provided for his family by working as a judge and landowner. copyright 2003-2023 Homework.Study.com. How many siblings did Louisa May Alcott have? 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. Aspiring for a more meaningful career, she travelled to Mexico to serve as a foreign correspondent. One can only speculate what further triumphs and good deeds this remarkable woman might have achieved if only she lived a few years longer. She also interviewed influential and controversial figures, including Emma Goldman in 1893. Nellie Bly Baker (September 7, 1893 - October 12, 1984) was an American actress active in the silent film era and early talkies, mostly playing minor roles. The Babysitter Chronicles Series de libros - eBooks | Rakuten Kobo [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. Elizabeth hoped the massive newspaper industry of New York City would be more open-minded to a female journalist and left Pittsburgh. It was no mere armchair observation, because Bly got herself committed . Nellie Bly died of pneumonia when she was 57. In 1880, her mother moved the family to Pittsburg, and Nellie Bly caught the eye of "The Pittsburg Dispatch" editor George Madden, when she wrote a response to the article "What Girls Are Good For." Nellie Bly, pseudonym of Elizabeth Cochrane, also spelled Cochran, (born May 5, 1864, Cochrans 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 might Elizabeths position as a woman have helped her investigative reporting? At 15, Bly enrolled at the State Normal School in Indiana, Pennsylvania. Biography of Nellie Bly, Investigative Journalist, World Traveler. How many siblings did Lucretia Garfield have? Life Story: Elizabeth Cochrane, aka Nellie Bly (1864-1922), Women & The American Story, New-York Historical Society Library and Museum. Biography: You Need to Know: Agness Underwood. Ten Days in a Mad-House - Wikipedia [15] "Mad Marriages" was published under the byline of Nellie Bly, rather than "Lonely Orphan Girl". How many siblings did Queen Victoria have? Toshiko Akiyoshi changed the face of jazz music over her sixty-year career. [14] Her second article, "Mad Marriages", was about how divorce affected women. How many siblings did Zora Neale Hurston have? 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. Unfortunately, Bly did not manage the finances well and fell victim to fraud by employees that led the firm to declare bankruptcy. Upon her husbands 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. One of the protagonist's adventures in the 2003 film "The Adventures of Ociee Nash" is meeting Nellie Bly (Donna Wright) on a train. How many brothers and sisters did Ella Baker have? Her honest reporting about the horrors of workers lives attracted negative attention from local factory owners. When Bly was six, her father died suddenly and without a will. 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. Bernard, Karen. ", Lutes, Jean Marie. Gertrude Kasebier (photographer), Zitkala Sa, Sioux Indian and activist, c. 1898. After the fanfare of her trip around the world, Bly quit reporting and took a lucrative job writing serial novels for publisher Norman Munro's weekly New York Family Story Paper. The evening world. How many siblings did St. Catherine of Siena have? His farm, mill, and the surrounding area became known as "Cochran's Mill" (part of a suburb of Pittsburgh). 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. Shortly after her first article was published, Elizabeth changed her pseudonym from Lonely Orphan Girl to Nellie Bly, after a popular song. 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". 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 . It was one of the few things that helped set her apart from her 14 siblings. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division Washington, D.C. McLoughlin Bros., Round the World with Nellie Bly, 1890. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Feb. 1, 2000; Accessed April 27, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1601472. [66] David Blixt also appeared on a March 10, 2021 episode of the podcast Broads You Should Know as a Nellie Bly expert. New York, Nellie Bly Press, 2017. Born in 1864, Bly was the thirteenth of 15 children in a family headed by Michael Cochran, a mill owner and county judge. 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. Just over seventy-two days after her departure from Hoboken, Bly was back in New York. Died: January 27, 1922, New York City, NY. New-York Historical Society Library. The editor chose "Nellie Bly", after the African-American title character in the popular song "Nelly Bly" by Stephen Foster. In her later years, Bly returned to journalism, covering World War I from Europe and continuing to shed light on major issues that impacted women. Elizabeths mother soon remarried, but quickly divorced her second husband because of abuse, and relocated the family to Pittsburgh. And much of this has to do with her firsthand account of life in an insane asylum. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 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. In 2015, director Timothy Hines released 10 Days in a Madhouse, which also depicts Bly's harrowing experience in the asylum.