Michael Cochran began his career in the mills outside Pittsburgh, until he was able to earn enough to buy the mill. Bly told the assistant matron: "There are so many crazy people about, and one can never tell what they will do. Between 1889 and 1895, Nellie Bly also penned twelve novels for The New York Family Story Paper. [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. Following her marriage, she retired from journalism and became the president of her husband's Iron Clad Manufacturing Company. Michael married twice. How many siblings did Sojourner Truth have? After the company suffered losses from embezzlement, Bly returned to journalism and reported from Europe during World War I. How many siblings did August Wilson have? She often exposed the poor working conditions faced by women. (New York, N.Y.), 14 Nov. 1889. The story of an investigative journalist who used her career to shed light on the horrors of urban life and break gender stereotypes. Elizabeth too began writing under the pen name Nellie Bly after the Stephen Foster song. Aspiring for a more meaningful career, she travelled to Mexico to serve as a foreign correspondent. She started a new trend in reporting that earned her recognition as an undercover reporter. How many siblings did Louisa May Alcott have? How many brothers and sisters did Amelia Earhart have? Into the Madhouse with Nellie Bly: Girl Stunt Reporting in the Late Nineteenth Century America., Nellie Bly PBS: American Experience, Accessed 23 March 23, 2017, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/world/peopleevents/pande01.html. How many siblings did Mary Livermore have? New-York Historical Society Library. 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. 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. Her work, which was later reprinted as a book titled Ten Days in a Mad House spurred a large-scale investigation of the institution as well as the much-needed improvements in health care. In 1887, Bly stormed into the office of the New York World, one of the leading newspapers in the country. Popularly known by her pen name Nellie Bly, Elizabeth Cochran was an American journalist and writer who was a pioneer in the field of investigative journalism. How many children did Catherine of Aragon have? Her investigation of conditions at an insane asylum sparked outrage, legal action, and improvements of the treatment of the mentally ill. Watch Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story on Lifetime Movie Club. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. American investigative journalist (18641922), Elizabeth Cochran, "Nellie Bly," aged about 26. Unfortunately, Bly did not manage the finances well and fell victim to fraud by employees that led the firm to declare bankruptcy. She became one the leading women industrialists in the US and was the inventor of a novel milk can and a stacking garbage can, holding the patents for both. As one of few women and Asian musicians in the jazz world, Akiyoshi infused Japanese culture, sounds, and instruments into her music. At 15, Bly enrolled at the State Normal School in Indiana, Pennsylvania. As a child she wore it so often she was nicknamed Pinky. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Two years later, Bly moved to New York City and began working for the New York World. How many siblings did Mary McLeod Bethune have. Second, she wanted to prove that women were capable of traveling just as well asif not better thanmen. Elizabeth is often described as a muckraker. Cochrane rode on ships and trains, in rickshaws and sampans, on horses and burros. 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. Blys husband died in 1903, leaving her in control of the massive Iron Clad Manufacturing Company and. When she returned, she was again assigned to the society page and promptly quit in protest. When Robert died in 1904, Elizabeth briefly took over as president of his companies. In 1885, Bly began working as a reporter for the Pittsburgh Dispatch at a rate of $5 per week. To escape writing about womens issues on the society page, Elizabeth volunteered to travel to Mexico. A number of positive changes were made after the release of the book. In 1887, Bly stormed into the office of the, Blys six-part series on her experience in the asylum was called. [74] From early in the twentieth century until 1961, the Pennsylvania Railroad operated an express train named the Nellie Bly on a route between New York and Atlantic City, bypassing Philadelphia. Nellie Bly: Around the World in 72 Days. Senator John Heinz History Center. 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 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. 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. Her report was compiled into a book, Ten Days in a Mad-House (1887), and led to lasting institutional reforms. Michael Cochrans rise from mill worker to mill owner to judge meant his family lived very comfortably. 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. How many siblings did Queen Victoria have? The editor was so impressed with her writing that he gave her a job. Nellie Bly was the most famous American woman reporter of the 19th century. July 28, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/07/28/she-went-undercover-expose-an-insane-asylums-horrors-now-nellie-bly-is-getting-her-due/. [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". Bly looked for work to help support her family, but found fewer opportunities than her less-educated brothers. It was initially published as a series of articles for the New York World. ACTIVISM AND SOCIAL CHANGE; AMERICAN IDENTITY AND CITIZENSHIP, Major support for Women & the American Story provided by, Lead support for New-York Historicals teacher programs provided by. [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 one of fourteen siblings growing up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 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. She went undercover to expose an insane asylums horrors. Born in 1864, Bly was the thirteenth of 15 children in a family headed by Michael Cochran, a mill owner and county judge. Blys husband died in 1903, leaving her in control of the massive Iron Clad Manufacturing Company and American Steel Barrel Company. 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. [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. She wasn't the first woman of her time to join a newsroom, but she was certainly the most. Bly went on to patent several inventions related to oil manufacturing, many of which are still used today. Does Nellie have any. How many siblings did Wilma Rudolph have? When Bly was six, her father died suddenly and without a will. She published all of her works as Elizabeth Bisland . How many siblings did Anne Sullivan have? Conduct a close examination of. She was the daughter of Michael Cochran and Mary Jane Kennedy Cochran (second wife). Her image was used on everything from playing cards to board games. How many siblings did Elizabeth Blackwell have? Her sharply critical articles angered Mexican officials and caused her expulsion from the country. It was there that she added an e to her last name, becoming Elizabeth Jane Cochrane. How many siblings did Elizabeth Cady Stanton have? [11], Burdened again with theater and arts reporting, Bly left the Pittsburgh Dispatch in 1887 for New York City. 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.. This prompted Elizabeth to write a response under the pseudonym "Lonely Orphan Girl". She is often confused with the journalist Nellie Bly (1864-1922). The New York World completely supported her ambitious feat. Nellie Bly's stint in the facility wasn't necessarily how she envisioned making a name for herself. https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/learn/women-forging-way/nellie-bly-around-the-world, Ten Days in the Madhouse. A Celebration of Women Writers. 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. Blys literary success proliferated when she turned the fictional tale of Jules Vernes 1873 novel Around the World in Eighty Days, into reality. Search results for "The Babysitter Chronicles" at Rakuten Kobo. 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". Nellie Bly managed to circumnavigate the world in just 72 days, eight less than Jules Verne's fictitious hero, Phileas Fogg, who inspired the feat. For a time, she was one of the leading women industrialists in the United States. Returning to Pittsburgh, she temporarily continued working for The Pittsburgh Dispatch before leaving for New York City in 1887. Nellie Bly Wikipedia. In 1889, the paper sent her on a trip around the world in a record-setting 72 days. Ten Days in a Mad-House is a book by American journalist Nellie Bly. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 2022. In 1880, the family moved to Pittsburgh where Elizabeth supported her single mother by running a boarding house. Gertrude Kasebier (photographer), Zitkala Sa, Sioux Indian and activist, c. 1898. It was for the Dispatch that she began using the pen name Nellie Bly, borrowed from a popular Stephen Foster song. 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. She was far and away the best-known woman journalist of her day. New-York Historical Society Library. National Women's History Museum, 2022. How many siblings did Zora Neale Hurston have? Born In: Cochrans Mills, Pennsylvania, United States. She married millionaire Robert Seaman in 1895, but after his death she suffered financial reverses, and she returned to newspaper work on the New York Journal in 1920. [47], The New York Press Club confers an annual Nellie Bly Cub Reporter journalism award to acknowledge the best journalistic effort by an individual with three years or fewer of professional experience. Our experts can answer your tough homework and study questions. She challenged the stereotypical assumption that women could not travel without many suitcases, outfit changes, and vanity items. In it, she argued for reform of divorce laws. Full_Name: Elizabeth Jane Cochran. Her trip only took 72 days, which set a world record. How many siblings did Patricia Bath have? [33] Bly was 31 and Seaman was 73 when they married. Nicols Enrquez de Vargas (artist), Portrait of Sor Juana Ins de la Cruz, ca. 2022. www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/nellie-bly. 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. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. [49], During the 1990s, playwright Lynn Schrichte wrote and toured Did You Lie, Nellie Bly?, a one-woman show about Bly. Unknown photographer, A Typical Boomer Family, ca. How many siblings did Martha Washington have? Chien-shiung Wu (1912-1997), professor of physics at Columbia University, 1963. While in charge of the company, Bly put her social reforms into action and Iron Clad employees enjoyed several perks unheard of at the time, including fitness gyms, libraries and healthcare. 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 Abigail Adams was an early advocate for women's rights. She was arrested when she was mistaken for a British spy. 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. [55], Anne Helm appeared as Nellie Bly in the November 21, 1960, Tales of Wells Fargo TV episode "The Killing of Johnny Lash". She also became renowned for her investigative and undercover reporting, including posing as a sweatshop worker to expose poor working conditions faced by women. [15] "Mad Marriages" was published under the byline of Nellie Bly, rather than "Lonely Orphan Girl". [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. Unscrupulous employees bilked the firm of hundreds of thousands of dollars, troubles compounded by protracted and costly bankruptcy litigation. 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. "Nellie Bly." 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. 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. Activist journalists like Elizabethcommonly known as muckrakerswere an important part of reform movements. How many siblings did Catherine of Aragon have? Oportunidades Iguales Para Las Mujeres En El Trabajo y La Educaccion, Womens Strike for Equality, New York, Fifth Avenue, 1970, Eugene Gordon photograph collection, 1970-1990. How many siblings did Frances Hodgson Burnett have? 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. Born Elizabeth Jane Cochran, Nellie Bly was famed for pioneering new investigative journalism when she worked as an undercover journalist in New York's most notorious mental institution. Bly later enrolled at the Indiana Normal School, a small college in Indiana, Pennsylvania, where she studied to become a teacher. How many siblings did Dorothy Height have? During World War I, she traveled to Europe as the first woman to report from the trenches on the front line. Bly went on to patent several inventions related to oil manufacturing, many of which are still used today. 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. She also prioritized the welfare of the employees, providing health care benefits and recreational facilities. 1890. How many brothers and sisters did Theodore Roosevelt have? [citation needed] Julia Duffy appeared as Bly in the July 10, 1983 Voyagers! [53] In 2019, the Center for Investigative Reporting released Nellie Bly Makes the News, a short animated biographical film. National Women's History Museum. How many siblings did Susan B. Anthony have? [20], In 1893, Bly used the celebrity status she had gained from her asylum reporting skills to schedule an exclusive interview with the allegedly insane serial killer Lizzie Halliday.[25]. National Women's History Museum. 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. Death date: January 27, 1922. Bernard, Karen. claimed that women were best served by conducting domestic duties and called the working woman "a monstrosity." http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/bly/madhouse/madhouse.html. For ten days Elizabeth experienced the physical and mental abuses suffered by patients. READ MORE: Inside Nellie Blys 10 Days in a Madhouse. Activist journalists like Elizabethcommonly known as muckrakerswere an important part of reform movements. Bly crafted a fiery rebuttal that grabbed the attention of the paper's managing editor, George Madden, who, in turn, offered her a position. Smithsonian Institute Archives Image # SIA 2010-1509. 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. [13] Her first article for the Dispatch, titled "The Girl Puzzle", argued that not all women would marry and that what was needed were better jobs for women. What was nellie blys favorite color? Her report of the horrifyingly appalling conditions prevailing inside the asylum was an eye-opener for the general public and authorities alike. 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. She also interviewed and wrote pieces on several prominent figures of the time, including Emma Goldman and Susan B. Anthony. 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. 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. How many siblings did Queen Elizabeth I have? After her return, she toured the country as a lecturer. In it, she explores the country's people and customs, and even stumbles upon marijuana. How many brothers and sisters did Harriet Tubman have? MLA Norwood, Arlisha and Mariana Brandman. She was satisfied to know that her work led to change. 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.