Nellie Bly was 23 when she pretended to be insane to get inside New York's notorious women's asylum on Blackwell's Island in 1887. She spent ten days there, and her report, Ten Days in a Mad-House, exposed the cruelty and led to reforms and more funding. Two years later she set off to beat the fictional Phileas Fogg's 80 day trip around the world, and did it in 72. Later she ran a manufacturing company and patented her own designs.
Nellie Bly
Undercover Journalist
EXTRA-ORDINARY TRAIT
COURAGE
JFDI PILLAR
D — DRIVE
COUNTRY & REGION
USA (Americas)
LIFESPAN
1864 – 1922
GENDER
Woman
EDITION
No.017
✦ DEFINING MOMENT
Undercover inside the Blackwell's Island asylum, 1887, notebook hidden, determined to expose the truth.
✦ ARCHIVAL DOSSIER
The Story
✦ VERIFIED QUOTE
“Energy rightly applied and directed will accomplish anything." Check source)”
✦ DID YOU KNOW?
She went round the world carrying just one small bag.
✦ YOUR TURN
What truth would you go undercover to tell?
COLLECTIBLE EDITIONS
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