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Nellie Bly: An Undeterred Personality

Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman, a journalist, novelist and an inventor popularly known by her pen name “Nellie Bly” was a  woman honoured by the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

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Achievements Of Nellie Bly

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• She is considered to be the first female investigative reporter.
• She was one of the four journalists honoured with a U.S. postage stamp.
• She is inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.
• She set a world record by travelling around the world in 72 days in 1890.

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Nellie Bly’s Personality

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The Rebellious Girl

Nellie Bly came across a column in a journal entitled “What Girls Are Good For.” This aggressive column provoked her to write a fierce letter to the editor. The editor was impressed by the girl’s rebellious attitude and offered her to write an article for his newspaper and later offered her a job with the same association.

No Compromise With Who You Are

Nellie Bly focused more on writing investigative articles on the difficulties of women factory workers. The company where she worked pressurized her to concentrate more on the subjects that related to fashion, glamour and society. Unhappy with her job roles she denied taking up that assignment and instead moved to Mexico as a foreign correspondent to serve there.

Rise To the Challenge

Nellie Bly took a challenge to beat the record of the fictional character of the novel “Around the World in Eighty Days.” She completed the challenge in 72 days, creating a world record. She later wrote a book on it titled ‘AROUND THE WORLD IN 72 DAYS.’

It’s Never a Retirement

After her retirement from journalism, she took up a new role as an industrialist and became the president of the Iron Clad Manufacturing Co. there was a time when she became one of the leading women industrialists in the United States.

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Nellie Bly Inspiring Quotes

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“Energy rightly applied and directed will accomplish anything.”

“I have never written a word that did not come from my heart. I never shall.”

Way back in the late 1800s a woman dared to pursue her dreams, to stand up for her thoughts, to serve people, to investigate the plight of working women to serve them justice, and to be an industrialist.

She dared to try most of the things she wanted to try. It didn’t come all easy to her. One of the leading women industrialists of her time in the USA also saw her company go bankrupt. She faced criticisms which condemned her to have not known the proper language and spellings to write. She risked acting insane to get admitted to a mental asylum in order to write about the experiences and plight of patients there. She even dared to travel alone around the world which seems scary even to this day for many of us.

Throughout her life, she followed what her mind prompted her to do, battling against the odds, facing disagreements from others, being herself more and more every time, and setting up an example to show what you can be if you really want to be.

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Nellie Bly’s Books

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• Around The World In 72 Days
• Ten Days In A Mad-House
• Six Months In Mexico

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