Pittsburgh, PA

Elizabeth Jane Cochran was born in 1864 forty miles northeast of Pittsburgh, but eventually moved to the city in 1880, where shortly after she took on the pen name, Nellie Bly. Bly is considered to be one of the most famous female journalists of her time and an excellent role model for women all over the world.

Nellie Bly got her start in journalism, by anonymously responding to a sexist columnist in the Pittsburgh Dispatch and being offered a job due to her impressive letter writing skills. While at the Pittsburgh Dispatch, Bly focused on the blights of women, specifically ones working in local factories, but soon grew impatient with the stories the newspaper wanted her to write about, namely fashion, gardening, etc. She decided to take some initiative and become a foreign correspondent, which involved traveling to Mexico to study the lives of the local people.

After she published her work on her travels, she moved to New York City to pursue more newsworthy topics than the subjects the Pittsburgh Dispatch wanted her to write about. Despite being completely broke, Bly talked her way into the offices of the New York World, where she agreed to go undercover to write an article about the neglect happening at the Women’s Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell’s Island. Bly had to fake mental insanity and endure the horrible conditions at the asylum for ten days. Her report, Ten Days in a Mad-House, won her instant attention as a journalist.

Nellie Bly is also famous for traveling the world in 72 days, just like in the Jules Vernes novel. She left New York in 1889 for her 24,899 mile long journey. Although this was unusual at the time, Bly traveled alone and became a role model for independent women all over the world.

Bly died of pneumonia in 1922 in New York City.

For more information on Nellie Bly, please check out the following websites:

PBS Film Article: Around the World in 72 Days

The Story of Nellie Bly

National Women’s Hall of Fame

The Best Reporter in America

Today is the last day of Women’s History Month, but don’t let that stop anyone from the further research of famous females, from Pittsburgh or not. To read any of the other Women’s History Month bios, start at the Rachel Carson post and work your way up to the present time. Thanks!

Pittsburgh, Nellie Bly, journalism, Women’s History Month