Nellie Bly

Nancy Castaldo
Science Sleuth

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     We may think nothing of travelling to the other side of the world, but things were much different two centuries ago. Only adventurers and explorers ventured to faraway places. 

    That changed when three important breakthroughs occurred. In 1869 the First Transcontinental Railroad was completed in America. It enabled people and goods to travel easily. In 1870, the Indian railways were linked, increasing trade and travel opportunities. And the Suez Canal opened in 1869 allowing ships to sail from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. 

​     These three leaps forward made it possible for someone to travel around the world. The idea was exciting. 

        Jules Verne was one of the many people imagining such a trip. He wrote a bestseller in 1873 about a man who bet his friends that he could travel around the world in eighty days. 

       “I will bet twenty thousand pounds against anyone who wishes that I will make the tour of the world in eighty days or less,” says Phileas Fogg at the beginning of Jules Verne’s adventure novel Around the World in Eighty Days. 

        In those days, making the trip in eighty days or less was almost impossible. The only way people traveled during that time was by ship, train or carriage. And there were always delays. 

        Stunt reporter, Nellie Bly, also wondered if it could be done. Although women faced the challenges of not readily being able to travel alone, they also felt the lure of adventure. 

       Nellie pitched the idea to her editor and a year later, he consented to send her. She would not only beat Phileas Fogg’s record, but she would prove that a woman could do it. 

      Nellie began her trip in November 1889 on a ship sailing for England. She carried with her only one bag and one dress-- and no chaperone. 

      Soon all of America was rooting for her.  Along the way delays made it seem like it wouldn’t happen. Storms rocked her ship. Weather slowed her down. Could Nellie do it? She was courageous and full of adventure. If anyone could it would be her. 

       She returned to New York on January 25, 1890, in a record 72 days, beating Phileas Fogg. Her journey rivaled the fictitious one Jules Verne had imagined. Nellie Bly had written herself into the history books!

It was a common practice for female journalists to use pen names. Nellie Bly was a pen name for Elizabeth Jan Cochran and was based on the heroine of Stephen Foster's popular song "Nellie Bly."

A publicity photograph taken by the New York World newspaper to promote Bly's around-the-world voyage. If you could only take one outfit on such a voyage, would this one have been your choice?

A woodcut image of Nellie Bly's homecoming reception in Jersey City printed on 8 February 1890. "Nellie Bly Reception 1890" by Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, from sketches by C. Bunnell. United States Library of Congress.

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