Ten Days in the Madhouse. 1893-1894. 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. 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]. How many siblings did Warren G. Harding have? How many siblings did Rosalind Franklin have? Engraving. 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. Born Elizabeth Cochran Seaman, Nellie Bly grew up in Pennsylvania in an area that is now a suburb of Pittsburgh. Unable to maintain the land or their house, Blys family left Cochran's Mill. [10] In 1880, Cochrane's mother moved her family to Allegheny City, which was later annexed by the City of Pittsburgh. [26], Back in reporting, she covered the Woman Suffrage Procession of 1913 for the New York Evening Journal. 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. New-York Historical Society. Furthermore, her hands-on approach to reporting developed into a practice now called investigative journalism. In it, she explores the country's people and customs, and even stumbles upon marijuana. First, she wanted to beat the record set in the popular fictional world tour from Jules Vernes Around the World in Eighty Days. How many children did Catherine of Aragon have? Our experts can answer your tough homework and study questions. In 2015, director Timothy Hines released 10 Days in a Madhouse, which also depicts Bly's harrowing experience in the asylum. Her mother remarried but divorced in 1878 due to abuse. On train, ship, rickshaw, horse, and donkey . After leaving the school, she moved with her mother to the nearby city of Pittsburgh, where they ran a boarding house together. Activist journalists like Elizabethcommonly known as muckrakerswere an important part of reform movements. 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. . National Women's History Museum, 2022. Madden immediately offered her a job as a columnist. The editor was so impressed with her writing that he gave her a job. However, after only a year and a half, Elizabeth ran out of money and could no longer afford the tuition. 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. How many brothers did Susan B. Anthony have? 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). 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 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 . She also became renowned for her investigative and undercover reporting, including posing as a sweatshop worker to expose poor working conditions faced by women. How many children did Laura Ingalls Wilder have? She also interviewed and wrote pieces on several prominent figures of the time, including Emma Goldman and Susan B. Anthony. [15] In one report, she protested the imprisonment of a local journalist for criticizing the Mexican government, then a dictatorship under Porfirio Daz. Nellie Bly was a nationally significant journalist at the New York World. episode "Jack's Back". 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. How many children did Catherine Parr have? 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. We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us! "Pink," as she was known in childhood, was the youngest of 13 (or 15, according . Her investigation of conditions at an insane asylum sparked outrage, legal action, and improvements of the treatment of the mentally ill. Chapultepec Castle, Mexico City. [7] Michael Cochran died in 1870, when Elizabeth was 6. She was 57 years old. How many siblings did Shirley Chisholm have? For a time, she was one of the leading women industrialists in the United States. 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. 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). Shortly after her first article was published, Elizabeth changed her pseudonym from Lonely Orphan Girl to Nellie Bly, after a popular song. [45] The winning proposal, The Girl Puzzle by Amanda Matthews, was announced on October 16, 2019. In 1880, the family moved to Pittsburgh where Elizabeth supported her single mother by running a boarding house. How many sisters did Martha Washington have? Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. 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. [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. 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. When Bly was six, her father died suddenly and without a will. It was there that she added an e to her last name, becoming Elizabeth Jane Cochrane. MLA Norwood, Arlisha and Mariana Brandman. She breathed her last on January 27, 1922 at St. Mark's Hospital in New York City due to pneumonia. Nellie Bly: Around the World in 72 Days. Senator John Heinz History Center. The park reopened in 2007[71] under new management, renamed "Adventurers Amusement Park". 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. This lesson will teach you about Nellie Bly, her adventures, her inventions, and why she wrote under a fake name! Life Story: Elizabeth Cochrane, aka Nellie Bly (1864-1922), Women & The American Story, New-York Historical Society Library and Museum. How many brothers and sisters did Theodore Roosevelt have? 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. Her plan was to graduate and find a position as a teacher. Also Known As: Elizabeth Jane Cochran, Elisabeth Cochrane Seaman, place of death: New York City, United States, Notable Alumni: Indiana University Of Pennsylvania, education: Indiana University Of Pennsylvania, See the events in life of Nellie Bly in Chronological Order, (Journalist and Writer Known for Her Record-BreakingTrip Around the Worldin 72 Days), http://www.newseum.org/2015/03/17/unsung-heroes-nellie-bly/, http://womenshistory.about.com/od/blynellie/p/Nellie-Bly.htm, https://www.post-gazette.com/life/lifestyle/2015/01/25/Honoring-Nellie-Bly-s-trip-125-years-ago-a-British-woman-retraces-her-steps-around-the-globe/stories/201501250014, https://www.biography.com/people/nellie-bly-9216680. Elizabeth is often described as a muckraker. 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. [17] Madden was impressed again and offered her a full-time job. The show ran for 16 performances. Her father, Michael Cochran, owned a lucrative mill and served as associate justice of Armstrong County. Nellie's father was a successful businessman and a good parent to Nellie and her four siblings. How many siblings did Susan B. Anthony have? [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. Her mother was from a wealthy Pittsburgh family. Cochrans editor chose the name Nelly Bly from a Stephen Foster song. How many siblings did Althea Gibson have? [15] "Mad Marriages" was published under the byline of Nellie Bly, rather than "Lonely Orphan Girl". 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. National Women's History Museum. Bly went on to patent several inventions related to oil manufacturing, many of which are still used today. 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. Nellie Bly was the most famous American woman reporter of the 19th century. Date accessed. She also prioritized the welfare of the employees, providing health care benefits and recreational facilities. 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". world attention to journalist Nellie Bly with his 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". Michael had 10 children with his first wife and five more with Mary Jane, who had no prior children. New York: Crown, 1994. Abigail Adams was an early advocate for women's rights. [22], Committed to the asylum, Bly experienced the deplorable conditions firsthand. Elizabeth Cochran was born on May 5, 1864 in Cochrans Mills, Pennsylvania. Baker's career as an actress took place from 1921-1934 and she performed in 13 films. [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. Robert was a millionaire who owned the Iron Clad Manufacturing Company and the American Steel Barrel Company. He later became a merchant, postmaster, and associate justice at Cochran's Mills (which was named after him) in Pennsylvania. Bly told the assistant matron: "There are so many crazy people about, and one can never tell what they will do. 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. Bly later compiled the articles into a book, being published by Ian L. Munro in New York City in 1887. In business, her curiosity and independent spirit flourished. How many brothers and sisters did Jimmy Carter have? 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. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. How many siblings did Elizabeth Blackwell 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. "Nellie Bly." 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, .css-47aoac{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#A00000;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-47aoac:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}where she lived for 10 days. When Elizabeth Cochran began in journalism in 1885, it was considered inappropriate for a woman to write under her own name. Michael Cochran began his career in the mills outside Pittsburgh, until he was able to earn enough to buy the mill. How many sisters did Charles Dickens have? Unfortunately, Bly did not manage the finances well and fell victim to fraud by employees that led the firm to declare bankruptcy. How many siblings did Florence Nightingale have? Unable to maintain the land or their house, Bly's family left Cochran's Mill. [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. How many siblings did Eleanor Roosevelt have? In 2020, it was awarded to Claudia Irizarry Aponte, of THE CITY. Her time was 72 days 6 hours 11 minutes 14 seconds. How has Title IX impacted women in education and sports over the last 5 decades? 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. When she returned, she was again assigned to the society page and promptly quit in protest. It was for the Dispatch that she began using the pen name Nellie Bly, borrowed from a popular Stephen Foster song. While still working as a writer, Bly died from pneumonia on January 27, 1922. New-York Historical Society Library. 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 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. Christina Ricci starred as Bly and Transparent's Judith Light played the role of the head nurse. 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. Similar reportorial gambits took her into sweatshops, jails, and the legislature (where she exposed bribery in the lobbyist system). Here are 10 facts about Nellie Bly. 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. [19] When Mexican authorities learned of Bly's report, they threatened her with arrest, prompting her to flee the country. After her return, she toured the country as a lecturer. Aspiring for a more meaningful career, she travelled to Mexico to serve as a foreign correspondent. Her real name was Elizabeth Jane Cochrane; Nellie Bly was her pen name and the name under which she is most well-known. Lib. How many siblings did Angelina Grimke have? How many sisters did Ernest Shackleton have? In 1911, she returned to journalism as a reporter for the New York Evening Journal. 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. Bly went on to patent several inventions related to oil manufacturing, many of which are still used today. ", Lutes, Jean Marie. Quick Quiz: Around The World With Nellie Bly. Nellie Bly was born Elizabeth Jane Cochran on May 5, 1864 in Cochran's Mill, Pennsylvania. Following her marriage, she retired from journalism and became the president of her husband's Iron Clad Manufacturing Company. Chicago- Norwood, Arlisha and Mariana Brandman. 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. Religious Experience and Journal of Mrs. Jarena Lee: giving an account of her call to preach the gospel, frontispiece. Unfortunately, Bly did not manage the finances well and fell victim to fraud by employees that led the firm to declare bankruptcy. Watch Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story on Lifetime Movie Club. Cihak and Zima (photographer), Ida B. Wells-Barnett, ca. Gertrude Kasebier, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. When Bly was six, her father died suddenly and without a will. The majority of her writings were literary works. Nellie Bly died of pneumonia when she was 57. How many siblings did Emily Dickinson have? 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. [49], During the 1990s, playwright Lynn Schrichte wrote and toured Did You Lie, Nellie Bly?, a one-woman show about Bly. Her favorite color is pink. 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. Sherwood, D., Gabriel, R., Brescovit, A. D. & Lucas, S. M. (2022). Bly suffered a tragic loss in 1870, at the age of six, when her father died suddenly. 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. 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. The articles were subsequently collected in Six Months in Mexico (1888). Bly was born Elizabeth Jane Cochran (she later added an "e" to the end of her name) on May 5, 1864, in Cochran's Mills, Pennsylvania. 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 [38], Bly wrote stories on Europe's Eastern Front during World War I. 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. on New Yorks ills, such as corruption in the state legislature, unscrupulous employment agencies for domestic workers, and the black market for buying infants. She published all of her works as Elizabeth Bisland . 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. Into the Madhouse with Nellie Bly: Girl Stunt Reporting in the Late Nineteenth Century America. American Quarterly, 54 no 2. Unidentified African American woman in uniform, 1861. 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. Unknown photographer, A Typical Boomer Family, ca. What was nellie blys favorite color? Elizabeths report about Blackwells Island earned her a permanent position as an investigative journalist for the World. 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. How many siblings did Lucretia Garfield have? Nellie Bly embarked on her journey from Hoboken, New Jersey, travelling first by ship but later by other vehicles. [41], In 1998, Bly was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. She had circumnavigated the globe, traveling alone for almost the entire journey. In business, her curiosity and independent spirit flourished. How many siblings did August Wilson have? She went undercover at a factory where she experienced unsafe working conditions, poor wages, and long hours. Smithsonian Institute Archives Image # SIA 2010-1509. It was no mere armchair observation, because Bly got herself committed . But Bly was hopeless at understanding the financial aspects of her business and ultimately lost everything. 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 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. 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 New York World. Young Elizabeth attended boarding school but just for a term before dropping out due to insufficient funds. This article was most recently revised and updated by, 8 of Nellie Bly's Most Sensational Stories. Elizabeth knew that she would need to support herself financially. [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). American National Biography. 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. Bernard, Karen. 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. Franois (Franz) Fleischbein (artist), Portrait of Betsy, 1837. How many siblings did Sybil Ludington have? Nellie Bly gained international stardom for her world tour stunt that multiplied her fame. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/nellie-bly-9296.php. She had several siblings and half-siblings. 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 completed the trip in 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes and 14 secondssetting a real-world record, despite her fictional inspiration for the undertaking. With Christina Ricci, Judith Light, Josh Bowman, Anja Savcic. Kroeger, Brooke. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. Her reporting introduced readers to the horrors of insane asylums and to international travel.

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