Nellie Bly was one heck of a human. A pioneering journalist who courageously spoke against injustice, she's also remembered for embarking on a world record-breaking journey around the globe in 1889.
May 5 is Bly’s 151st birthday and Google is celebrating her inspiring, adventure-filled life with a doodle and a song.
Bly was born Elizabeth Jane Cochrane in 1864. She adopted her nom de plume when she became a journalist in the early 1880s -- a career that was launched after she penned an angry rebuttal to a misogynistic column published in the Pittsburgh Dispatch. The editor of the Dispatch was apparently so impressed by her writing that he offered her a job at the newspaper.
This fiery, fearless spirit was the hallmark of Bly’s journalism career.
Bly, who worked under Joseph Pulitzer at The New York World, often championed the rights of the disenfranchised, including women and sweatshop workers. She was known for going to extreme lengths to find the best story, including reporting from deep-sea diving bells and aerial balloons. She famously feigned insanity to write an investigative feature about a New York City asylum; and early in her career, she was kicked out of Mexico for writing about corruption in the government.
Of all of her achievements, Bly was best known for traversing the globe, a trip that was inspired by Jules Verne’s fictional “Around the World in 80 Days.” She made the journey, mostly alone and on multiple modes of transportation, including boat and burro, in just 72 days -- then a world record. The New York Times wrote in her 1922 obituary that “every one who read newspapers followed her progress and she landed in New York a national character.”
Bly died from pneumonia at the age of 57.
To remember Bly, Google released a doodle, which offers a glimpse into her life story, on YouTube. The video is soundtracked by the song “Nellie,” sung by The Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Karen O.
“Someone’s gotta stand up and tell them what a girl is good for,” the song notes. “We gotta speak up for the ones who’ve been told to shut up. Oh Nellie, take us all around the world and break those rules cos you’re our girl.”
On January 18, 2012, Google joined Wikipedia, Reddit and thousands of other sites for a content blackout in protest of proposed Congressional legislation calling for strict enforcement of U.S. copyright law online. The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) drew the ire of web users who feared these bills would lead to unchecked web censorship. As a result of the massive protest, key Congressmen who had previously supported the bills reversed their positions; SOPA and PIPA were tabled indefinitely.
Burning Man
The first-ever Google doodle was a simple stick figure behind the second "O" in the logo on Aug. 30, 1998. It represented the founders' recent trip to the Burning Man festival.
Comic-Con
One of the great and super nerdy Google doodles, this Jul 23, 2009 logo celebrates the annual Comic-Con conference.
Happy Halloween
Google wished users "Happy Halloween" Oct. 31 with a new video doodle that shows a team of crafty Googlers carving six enormous pumpkins to spell out the search engine's name.
Marie Curie
On November 7, 2011 Google celebrated what would have been the 144th birthday of the mother of radioactivity, two-time Nobel Prize winning scientist Marie Curie.
Google's 13th Anniversary
Google celebrated its 13th anniversary on September 27, 2011, with a simple, birthday-themed doodle and a scrapbook-style doodle featuring the company's logo letters dressed in a birthday hats and sitting around presents and a birthday cake. Check out more photos here.
Mother's Day
On Mother's Day May 8th, Google tipped its hat to moms everywhere with a spring-themed logo with a purple flower in place of the "L."
Royal Wedding
Google celebrated the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton on April 29, 2011 with a Google doodle depicting a festively illustrated panorama of Westminster Abbey, where the royal knot was tied.
On 12 April 1961, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to enter outer space. Google's commemorative logo was dedicated to Gagarin's flight into space.
White House Science Fair
US President Barack Obama looks at science fair projects in the East Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, on April 22, 2013. Obama hosted the White House Science Fair and celebrated the student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions from across the country. AFP PHOTO/Jewel Samad
White House Science Fair
US President Barack Obama visits science fair projects in the East Garden of the White House in Washington on April 22, 2013. Obama hosted the White House Science Fair and celebrated the student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions from across the country.
White House Science Fair
US President Barack Obama visits science fair projects in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington on April 22, 2013. Obama hosted the White House Science Fair and celebrated the student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions from across the country.
White House Science Fair
US President Barack Obama shakes a robotic hand as he looks at science fair projects in the State Dinning Room of the White House in Washington on April 22, 2013. Obama hosted the White House Science Fair and celebrated the student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions from across the country.
White House Science Fair
President Barack Obama pedals bicycle-powered emergency water-sanitation station for Payton Karr, 16, left, and Kiona Elliott, 18, center, both from Oakland Park, Fla., to help demonstrate their invention, Monday, April 22, 2103, in the East Garden of the White House in Washington, where the president hosted the White House Science Fair to celebrate the student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions from across the country. The bicycle filters E. Coli and other harmful pathogens from contaminated water. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
White House Science Fair
US President Barack Obama visits science fair projects in East Garden of the White House in Washington on April 22, 2013. Obama hosted the White House Science Fair and celebrated the student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions from across the country.
White House Science Fair
Jack Andraka, 15, from Glen Burnie, Md., stands up after being acknowledge by President Barack Obama during the White House Science Fair, Monday, April 22, 2013, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Andraka is the 2012 Intel Science Fair grand prize winner for creating early detection pancreatic cancer test that is faster, cheaper and more sensitive than the test before it. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
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