Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman (May 5, 1864 – January 27, 1922), known by her
pen name Nellie Bly, was an American
journalist. She was also a
writer,
industrialist,
inventor, and a
charity worker who was widely known for her record-breaking
trip around the world in 72 days, in emulation of
Jules Verne's fictional character
Phileas Fogg, and an
exposé in which she
faked insanity to study a mental institution from within. She was a pioneer in her field, and launched a new kind of investigative journalism.