Nellie Bly | Biography, Pioneering Female Journalist & Investigative & Facts
Where did Nellie Bly grow up?
Elizabeth Jane Cochrane was born on May 5, 1864 in Cochrane’s Mills, Pennsylvania. She was a smart girl who loved to play with her older brothers. She often wore pink dresses, which earned her the nickname “Pinky”.
When she was six years old, her father died and her family went through a difficult time. She worked odd jobs to help her family, but it was difficult for women to find work at the time. She wanted to teach, but had to drop out after one semester because she ran out of money.
Nellie Bly Overview:
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Born | May 5, 1864 in Cochran’s Mills, Pennsylvania |
| Died | January 27, 1922 in New York, New York |
| Full name | Elizabeth Jane Cochran |
| Best known for | Traveling around the world in 72 days and investigative reporting on a mental institution. |
Biography of Nellie Bly:
Becoming a Journalist
When Elizabeth was 16, she read an article in the Pittsburgh newspaper that portrayed women as weak and worthless. It made her angry. She wrote a scathing letter to the editor of her newspaper to express her feelings. Her editor was impressed by her writing and her passion and offered her her job. She adopted the pseudonym “Nellie Bly” and began writing articles for her in newspapers.
The Insane Asylum
In 1887, Nellie moved to New York City, where he took a job at World. She wanted to infiltrate a women’s shelter and report the situation. Once she entered the house, she was lonely for ten days. Nellie knew it was horribly dangerous, but she still took her job.
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Pretending to be Crazy
To get into a mental hospital, Nellie had to pretend to be insane. Upon checking into the boarding house, Nellie began acting paranoid. Her doctors immediately examined her. She claimed she was suffering from her memory loss and it was concluded that she had dementia. They sent her to her facility.
What was it like inside the asylum?
The conditions Nelly received in the mental hospital were terrible. Patients were given rotten food and dirty water. They were placed in cryogenic baths and abused by nurses. The hospital itself was dirty and full of rats. Patients had to sit for hours on benches unable to speak or read.
A Famous Reporter
Nellie wrote about his own experiences after being released from his institution. She became famous for her bravery and her reporting. She also exposed abuse of asylum patients and helped improve their condition. Nellie continued to write investigative articles on the ill-treatment of women in the late 19th century.
Around the World
In 1888 Nellie had a new idea for her article. She will run around the world in record time. Her goal was to beat the time of Phileas Fogg, a fictional character in Jules Verne’s story Around the World in 80 Days.
Setting the Record
Nellie’s record voyage began on November 14, 1889 at 9:40 a.m. at Augusta in Hoboken, New Jersey, aboard her Victoria. Her first destination was England. She then visited France, Yemen, Ceylon, Singapore, Japan and San Francisco via the Suez Canal. I was worried about delays and bad weather slowing me down.
When Nelly arrived in San Francisco, she was two days behind schedule. It didn’t help that a huge snowstorm was raging in the north of the country. By now Nelly’s journey had become nationally famous. New York World chartered a special train for them through the southern part of the country.
As she traveled around the country, people met her platoon and cheered her on. She finally arrived in New Jersey at 3:51pm. January 25, 1890. She completed her famous voyage in her record time of 72 days.
Later Life
Nelly fought for women’s rights all her life. She married Robert Seaman in 1895. When Robert died, she took over his iron and her cladding manufacturing business. Nelly later returned to reporting. She was the first woman to cover the Eastern Front during World War I.
Death
Nellie Bly died of pneumonia on January 22, 1922 in New York City.
Interesting Facts about Nellie Bly
The name “Nellie Bly” comes from the song “Nellie Bly” by Stephen Foster.
Nellie spent six months in Mexico writing about the Mexican people before being sent to her asylum. She angered the government with one of her articles and had to leave the country.
Competing newspapers sent their own reporters to try and beat Nelly in the round-the-world race.
Another reporter, Elizabeth Bisland, traveled the world backwards, but she arrived four days later.
She has several patents for her inventions, including a stackable trash can and an innovative milk churn.