Nellie Bly – The Daredevil Journalist

Elizabeth Jane Cochran (1864 – 1922), also known as the indefatigable investigator Nellie Bly, was the most famous journalist of her time. She was called Investigative Journalist due to her ability to cover acute social topics in her articles. Owing to a shocking description of the everyday routine at the Women's Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell’s Island, the funds for mental institutions were increased and conditions improved.

One day, Nellie Bly suggested the editor of the newspaper where she worked that he support her adventurous idea: the brave girl decided to surpass the record of Jules Verne's fictional character and circumnavigate the globe not in 80, but in 75 days. Soon, the New York World published an announcement, which said that the indefatigable Nellie Bly had challenged the popular fictional character Phileas Fogg.

The girl set off on November 14, 1889 and visited England, Italy, France, the Suez Canal, Ceylon, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan. The journalist completed her journey on January 25, 1890, and eventually managed to circumnavigate the globe in just 72 days, 6 hours, and 10 minutes.

The Foreign Literature Department invites you to view the presentation "Nellie Bly – The Daredevil Journalist".