Nelllllie

The Life of Nellie Bly

By ihes66

  • Birth

    Birth
    May 5th, 1864-Nellie Bly was born as Elizabeth Jane Cochran

  • Childhood

    Childhood
    Nellie was the third of 5 kids. When she was small, she earned the nickname "Pink" because her mother routinely dressed her with that color. 1870-at age 6,Nellie's father suddenly died. Since her father died so suddenly, he did not leave a will thus leaving who now owned the estate unknown. When her dad died, Mary Jane ( Nellie's mother) married again to an abusive man so she divorced him.

  • Education

    Education
    In hopes of suppoprting her single mother, she enrolled at a small college in Indiana, Pennsylvania. After leaving the school, she and her mother moved to Pittsburgh where they ran a boarding house.

  • Start of Career

    Start of Career
    In January 1885, Nellie read an editorial called, "What Girls are Good for". The article admonished women for even attempting to get a good education or career, suggesting they stray no further than home. This infuriated her to the point of writing a scathing reply that she signed "the little orphan girl"

  • Her Job

    Her Job
    In 1887, Nellie arrived in New York hoping to land a job at a major newspaper. After 4 months of rejection, and near penniless, she talked her way into the office of john Cockerill, managing editor of the joseph Pulitzer Newspaper the NEW YORK WORLD.

  • Article

    Article
    In 1887, Nellie got an idea for a story about how the patients at Blackwells' Island( an insane asylum for women) and went undercover there and figured out how the patients there were treated. They endured abusive attendants, spoiled food, beating and choking, freezing cold baths, and abuse on a daily basis. When Mr. Pulitzer got her out, she wrote a long article called "Ten Days in a Mad-House" and helped the patients get treated better.

  • Around the World

    Nellie's greatest success was Nellie's quest in 1889 to beat the record of Phileas Fogg, the fictional character in Jules Verne's book, Around the World in Eighty Days. On November 14, 1889, she set off on her journey with only a small suitcase and a checkered suit. She continued to travel by steamer, train, and even rickshaw as she traveled around the world, stopping in places like Europe, Japan, and other places. She made it around the world in 72 days, six hours, 11 minutes, and 14 seconds.

  • Death

    Nellie Bly died of pneumonia in 1922.