Nellie Bly
Monday marked the 151st birthday of Elizabeth Cochran, better known as Nellie Bly. I think us girls all own a thank you to Nellie. She was a groundbreaking journalist that fought the feminist fight.
In 1885, she wrote a letter to the Pittsburg newspaper against a column that was called, “What Girls Are Good For.” Elizabeth Cochran was outraged that the article said that working women were monstrous and that women’s proper place was in the home. Her letter was so well-written that the editor decided to hire her under the pen name Nellie Bly. She went on to write her famous story about the mistreatment of a women in an asylum on Blackwell Island. She is also famous for her trip around the world that took 72 days.
Nellie Bly taught us to speak up for what we believe in and that as journalist we should give a voice to those that don’t have one. She was tough and smart paving the path for women to be free to do anything they put their mind to.
Google posted a catchy video on her birthday celebrating how awesome she is and all that she did for women.
Thank you Nellie and Happy Belated Birthday!