Famous travellers – Stanfords Blog

Monumental Tribute to Pioneer of Investigative Journalism: Nellie Bly

-by Rosemary J Brown

Journalist Nellie Bly made history on Roosevelt Island in New York City in 1887. On 10 December 2021 she did it again. I was there.

The Girl Puzzle monument, honouring the life and legacy of Nellie Bly, was unveiled steps away from the scene where she pioneered a brave new journalism. Investigative reporting was born when Bly feigned madness to investigate the brutality suffered by vulnerable women committed to the insane asylum on the island bordering Manhattan. Her accounts in The New York World and book Ten Days in a Mad-House horrified the public and brought about sweeping changes.

Following Nellie Bly

GLOBETROTTER NELLIE BLY’S ADVICE FOR THE ADVENTURER

Six top tips

By Rosemary J Brown

Trailblazing journalist Nellie Bly circled the world faster than anyone ever had in 1890. She travelled alone — literally with the clothes on her back and a Gladstone bag – to beat the fictional 80-day record of Phileas Fogg. When she won her race around the world in 72 days, it was called “the most remarkable of all feats of circumnavigation ever performed by a human being”.