There are so many influential women who overcame obstacle after obstacle to help break through glass ceilings everywhere. Her Campus Emerson has decided to spotlight some of the many influential women who have since passed away. Please take a moment to learn about the incredible women who have inspired our writers!
Nellie Bly was an American journalist who pushed the limits of journalism of her time period through unconventional techniques and tactics. Her drive for highlighting issues within the society in which she lived far surpasses the lengths most would go to, which is why I am choosing to highlight her for our influential women week during Women’s History Month.
Nellie Bly was born in 1864 in Pennsylvania. Not long after, at the age of 6 years old, Bly lost her father, which caused the family to move. Bly later went to school for teaching, however, because of the financial problems that her family was facing, she left school to help her mother run a boarding house.
While working at the boarding house, Bly decided to write a complaint to the Pittsburgh Dispatch, in response to their viewpoints and mistreatment of women. The editor of the magazine not only read the letter, but proceeded to offer Bly a columnist position and published her response in the newspaper. It was through her fight for women’s rights that Bly was granted a position, however, her most noteworthy work was through her determination to write about mental institutions in the early 1900s.
After moving to New York City in 1886, Bly found it difficult to find work due to the disregard for female journalists of the time period. Bly went on to commit herself to a mental health institution for ten days in order to publish the six-part piece “Ten Days in a Mad-House,” which was picked up by the New York World. This practice of immersive research gave birth to the trend of investigative journalism, which is still utilized today. Not only that, but Bly also temporarily held the world record for a trip around the world (72 Days). She was inspired to do so after reading Around the World in Eighty Days.
In addition to her groundbreaking achievements in journalism, Bly was also a successful business owner after the death of her husband left her with a large manufacturing company. Bly went on to file patents on many products that are still used for oil manufacturing today. After her business endeavors, Bly returned to writing to cover the women’s suffrage movement and World War I in the early 1900s before her death in January of 1922.
Also as a fun addition, here is a picture of me, dressed as Nellie Bly, from her most iconic photo (located above). This was done through last year’s Herstory campaign put on by Emerson’s Sigma Pi Theta Sorority. You can find the rest of the photo recreations here!
All information is sourced from the National Women’s History Museum.