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. 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. 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. Bly continued to publish influential pieces of journalism, including interviews with prominent individuals like anarchist activist and writer Emma Goldman and socialist politician and labor organizer Eugene V. Debs. 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. He later became a merchant, postmaster, and associate justice at Cochran's Mills (which was named after him) in Pennsylvania. How many siblings did Emmeline Pankhurst have? We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. 1893-1894. Her fathers death when she was quite young had left the Cochran family with meagre means. How many siblings did Anne Sullivan have? For the same, she feigned insanity to get into the asylum and have a first-hand experience of the treatment meted out to patients. 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/. Elizabeths investigations brought attention to inequalities and often motivated others to take action. Nellie Bly had 14 siblings (10 half-siblings; 4 full blooded siblings). Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Her report on the horrifyingly conditions inside the asylum led to numerous reforms in the living condition of the mental patients. Her first articles, on conditions among working girls in Pittsburgh, slum life, and other similar topics, marked her as a reporter of ingenuity and concern. [14] It was customary for women who were newspaper writers at that time to use pen names. 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. Her father, Michael Cochran, owned a lucrative mill and served as associate justice of Armstrong County. Her real name was Elizabeth Jane Cochrane; Nellie Bly was her pen name and the name under which she is most well-known. [45] The winning proposal, The Girl Puzzle by Amanda Matthews, was announced on October 16, 2019. What was nellie blys favorite color? For ten days Elizabeth experienced the physical and mental abuses suffered by patients. Between 1889 and 1895 she wrote eleven novels. The editor was so impressed with her writing that he gave her a job. [citation needed] The character of Lana Winters (Sarah Paulson) in American Horror Story: Asylum is inspired by Bly's experience in the asylum. Alternate titles: Elizabeth Cochran, Elizabeth Cochrane. How many sisters did Charles Dickens have? Cochrans editor chose the name Nelly Bly from a Stephen Foster song. For a time, she was one of the leading women industrialists in the United States. Similar reportorial gambits took her into sweatshops, jails, and the legislature (where she exposed bribery in the lobbyist system). When Bly was six, her father died suddenly and without a will. 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. 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. 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 published her articles in a book titled 10 Days in A Mad House. As she became a teenager, she wanted to portray herself as more sophisticated, and she dropped the nickname and changed her surname to "Cochrane". How many siblings does Bessie Coleman have?
Nellie Bly - Bio, Age, Wiki, Facts and Family - in4fp.com 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. Blys six-part series on her experience in the asylum was called Ten Days in the Madhouse and quickly made Bly one of the most famous journalists in the country. In 2020, it was awarded to Claudia Irizarry Aponte, of THE CITY. Madden immediately offered her a job as a columnist. 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. [16] Cochrane originally intended that her pseudonym be "Nelly Bly", but her editor wrote "Nellie" by mistake, and the error stuck. With Caroline Barry, Christopher Lambert, Kelly LeBrock, Julia Chantrey. When Robert died in 1904, Elizabeth briefly took over as president of his companies. She recounted her adventures in her final book, Around the World in 72 Days. Unscrupulous employees bilked the firm of hundreds of thousands of dollars, troubles compounded by protracted and costly bankruptcy litigation. [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". This is a short thirty-minute lesson on Frances Ellen Watkins Harper. All rights reserved. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. 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. Cochrane rode on ships and trains, in rickshaws and sampans, on horses and burros. How many siblings did Elizabeth Blackwell have? She also interviewed influential and controversial figures, including Emma Goldman in 1893. The evening world. 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.
Nellie Bly | National Women's History Museum 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. [1] [2] Elizabeth Jane Cochran, a.k.a. Her image was used on everything from playing cards to board games. 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).
10 Facts About Nellie Bly | History Hit of Congress. 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. Collection of the New-York Historical Society. Nellie Bly was born Elizabeth Jane Cochran on May 5, 1864 in Cochrans Mill, Pennsylvania. She started a new trend in reporting that earned her recognition as an undercover reporter. Journalist Nellie Bly began writing for the Pittsburgh Dispatch in 1885. For the first 20 or so years of her life, Nellie Bly was known not as Nellie, nor as Elizabeth Jane Cochran, which was her birth name, but as "Pink," due to her fondness for the color, according to New World Encyclopedia. In business, her curiosity and independent spirit flourished. After a ten-day stay at the asylum, it was at the behest of the newspaper that Bly was freed. Date accessed. "Pink Cochrane" was a great name, but almost every woman journalist writing in the 19th century used a pseudonym.
Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story (TV Movie 2019) - IMDb 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. [70], The Nellie Bly Amusement Park in Brooklyn, New York City, was named after her, taking as its theme Around the World in Eighty Days.
Biography of Nellie Bly, Investigative Journalist - ThoughtCo 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. How many siblings did Zora Neale Hurston have? Lutes, Jean Marie. Does Nellie have any. 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. "Nellie Bly." One of her first undertakings for that paper was to get herself committed to the asylum on Blackwells (now Roosevelt) Island by feigning insanity. "Bly, Nellie (1864-1922), reporter and manufacturer." Michael had 10 children with his first wife, and he had 5 children with his second wife. Print Page Nellie Bly Nellie Bly, c. 1890.
Nellie Bly | National Women's History Museum [37], She ran her company as a model of social welfare, replete with health benefits and recreational facilities.
The Crazy True Story Of Nellie Bly - Grunge.com [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 was one of 15 children.
Covering Mental Health - Journalism in Action Religious Experience and Journal of Mrs. Jarena Lee: giving an account of her call to preach the gospel, frontispiece. These changes included a larger appropriation of funds for the care of mentally ill patients, additional physician appointments for stronger supervision of nurses and other healthcare workers, and regulations to prevent overcrowding and fire hazards at the city's medical facilities. 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. Safely home, she accused Daz of being a tyrannical czar suppressing the Mexican people and controlling the press. How many siblings did Warren G. Harding have? 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.
Ten Days in a Mad-House - Wikipedia Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World. 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". Nellie Bly was born Elizabeth Jane Cochran on May 5, 1864 in Cochran's Mill, Pennsylvania. How many siblings did Queen Liliuokalani have? American investigative journalist (18641922), Elizabeth Cochran, "Nellie Bly," aged about 26. 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. And much of this has to do with her firsthand account of life in an insane asylum. MLA Norwood, Arlisha and Mariana Brandman. The stunt made her famous. After the company suffered losses from embezzlement, Bly returned to journalism and reported from Europe during World War I. http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/bly/madhouse/madhouse.html. Elizabeth is often described as a muckraker. 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 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 expos. 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). She was the daughter of Michael Cochran and Mary Jane Kennedy Cochran (second wife). Nellie Blys 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. Nellie was born on May 5, 1864 in a city called Cochran's Millis in the United States. How many sisters did Martha Washington have? From France she went to Italy and Egypt, through South Asia to Singapore and Japan, then to San Francisco and back to New York. ", Lutes, Jean Marie. On the final lap of her journey, the World transported her from San Francisco to New York by special train; she was greeted everywhere by brass bands, fireworks, and like panoply. In it, she explained that New York City invested more money into care for the mentally ill after her articles were published. [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. It was initially published as a series of articles for the New York World. https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/learn/women-forging-way/nellie-bly-around-the-world, Ten Days in the Madhouse. A Celebration of Women Writers. Michael Cochrans rise from mill worker to mill owner to judge meant his family lived very comfortably. Unidentified African American woman in uniform, 1861. Her father had ten children from his first marriage and five children from his second marriage to Elizabeths mother, Mary Jane Kennedy. Her New York debut, at age 23, was a harrowing two-part expos of the Woman's Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell's (now Roosevelt) Island for which she had feigned insanity and fooled a battalion of Bellevue doctors and curious reporters from competing papers to get inside.
It was one of the few things that helped set her apart from her 14 siblings. Elizabeths writing career started abruptly and unintentionally. The first chapters of Eva The Adventuress, based on the real-life trial of Eva Hamilton, appeared in print before Bly returned to New York.
Who Was Nellie Bly and What Was She Famous For? - WorldAtlas The Babysitter Chronicles Series de libros - eBooks | Rakuten Kobo 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. Nellie Bly was the most famous American woman reporter of the 19th century. Bly later compiled the articles into a book, being published by Ian L. Munro in New York City in 1887. Updates? When Bly was six, her father died suddenly and without a will. She wasn't the first woman of her time to join a newsroom, but she was certainly the most. Watch Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story on Lifetime Movie Club. Elizabeth Cochran (she later added a final e to Cochran) received scant formal schooling. Kroeger, Brooke. 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). [68], Bly is one of 100 women featured in the first version of the book Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls written by Elena Favilli & Francesca Cavallo. 1750. 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. Nellie Bly was born on May 5, 1864 in Cochran Mill, Pennsylvania.
What are nellie blys siblings names? - Answers She told him about her plans to travel alone by train and ship around the world. Her reporting introduced readers to the horrors of insane asylums and to international travel. 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. She completed the trip in 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes and 14 seconds, setting a new world record. How has Title IX impacted women in education and sports over the last 5 decades? (June 2002) 217-253. 2022. Died: January 27, 1922, New York City, NY. How many siblings did Amy Carmichael have? Robert was a millionaire who owned the Iron Clad Manufacturing Company and the American Steel Barrel Company. [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. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. The story of an investigative journalist who used her career to shed light on the horrors of urban life and break gender stereotypes. As one of few women and Asian musicians in the jazz world, Akiyoshi infused Japanese culture, sounds, and instruments into her music. 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. However, after only a year and a half, Elizabeth ran out of money and could no longer afford the tuition. Gertrude Kasebier (photographer), Zitkala Sa, Sioux Indian and activist, c. 1898. How many siblings did Mary Todd Lincoln have? 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. How many siblings did Martha Washington have? [69], The board game Round the World with Nellie Bly created in 1890 is named in recognition of her trip. In 1885, Elizabeth read an article in the Pittsburgh Dispatch that argued a womans place was in the home, to be a helpmate to a man. She strongly disagreed with this opinion and sent an angry letter to the editor anonymously signed Lonely Orphan Girl.. [11], As a writer, Nellie Bly focused her early work for the Pittsburgh Dispatch on the lives of working women, writing a series of investigative articles on women factory workers.
In 1895, Bly married millionaire manufacturer Robert Seaman. Nellie Bly married manufacturer Robert Seaman in 1895. 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 . Chicago- Norwood, Arlisha and Mariana Brandman. 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. In the piece, writer Erasmus Wilson (known to Dispatch readers as the "Quiet Observer," or Q.O.) [19] When Mexican authorities learned of Bly's report, they threatened her with arrest, prompting her to flee the country.