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Nellie Bly Facts

Nellie Bly Facts
Nellie Bly was an American journalist most well-known for her 72 day trip around the world emulating Jules Verne's character Phileas Fogg in the novel Around the World in Eighty Days, as well as for pioneering a new style of investigative journalism. She was born Elizabeth Jane Cochran, on May 5th, 1864, to Mary Jane Kennedy and Michael Cochran in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She began to write for the Pittsburgh Dispatch in 1880 after impressing the editor with a column titled "Lonely Orphan Girl". Elizabeth adopted the pen name Nellie Bly while working at the paper. She wrote about women's issues and became a foreign correspondent.
Interesting Nellie Bly Facts:
Nellie Bly's penname is derived from the song "Nelly Bly", by Stephen Foster.
The neighbourhood in Pittsburgh where Nellie was born is now called Cochran's Mills.
Nellie often wore pink clothing and was given the nickname Pinky as a girl.
Nellie Bly's first newspaper article title was "Little Orphan Girl". It was in response to an article that portrayed women as only being good for having babies and taking care of the house. This article gained her a position at the newspaper as a writer.
In 1887 Nellie decided to go undercover and pretended to be insane so that she could be committed to an insane asylum. She wrote about the horrible treatment and conditions in the institution. She became famous for her writing about the experience.
Nellie Bly continued to write about the poor treatment of women for several years.
In 1888 Nellie decided to challenge the novel Around the World in Eighty Days. Her goal was to mimic the main character created by Jules Verne and complete the trip in less than 80 days.
Nellie Bly set out on her trip on November 14th, 1889 in Hoboken, New Jersey, aboard a ship.
Nellie's trip took her to England, France, Yemen, Ceylon, Singapore, Japan, and when she reached San Francisco she was two days behind her schedule.
She boarded a train that had been chartered by the New York World, and traveled through the southern part of the United States.
Nellie Bly arrived in New Jersey in 72 days, on January 25th, 1890. Along her journey she became famous and people would cheer her on when her train arrived in various stops along the way.
Nellie Bly married Robert Seaman in 1895. When he passed away Nellie took over Iron Clad Manufacturing - which had been Robert's business.
Nellie Bly eventually returned to reporting. She became the first woman to report from the Eastern Front during the Second World War.
When reporting in Mexico Nelly Bly was forced to flee the country when the government became upset with one of her articles.
Nelly Bly was an inventor as well as a writer. She invented a new type of milk can and a stacking garbage can.
Nellie Bly died on January 22nd, 1922, in New York City, at the age of 57. She had developed pneumonia. She is buried in the Bronx.
Nelly Bly was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1998.


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