Nellie Bly figure will land at Pittsburgh airport

A pioneering female journalist from Western Pennsylvania will take her place next to a former president and a football hero at Pittsburgh International Airport.

A figure of Nellie Bly will occupy a spot next to two other icons with ties to the area, George Washington and Steelers legend Franco Harris.

The lifelike statue is the result of a collaboration between the Senator John Heinz History Center and the Allegheny County Airport Authority. It’s part of the celebration of National Women’s History Month and the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage.

In 1889, Bly earned international recognition for an around-the-world journey she completed in a world-record 72 days, six hours, 11 minutes, and 14 seconds after her departure on a steamship from New York. The inspiration for the adventure was Jules Verne’s widely read novel “Around the World in 80 Days,” featuring the character Phileas Fogg.

Bly chronicled her travels in a series of articles for the New York World and ended up writing a book of her own, “Around the World in Seventy-Two Days,” published in 1890.

She had made a name for herself with other feats of derring-do years earlier, including an undercover stint as a patient in an insane asylum on Blackwell’s Island in Manhattan. Her news accounts later became a book, “Ten Days in a Mad-House,” which revealed a nightmare world of abused patients caught up in a dysfunctional mental health system.

Bly’s story, considered America’s first piece of investigative journalism, inspired significant changes in the public health system and its treatment of people with mental and behavioral illnesses.

“We’re pleased to recognize Nellie Bly’s important historical accomplishments, particularly during Women’s History Month, as part of our arts and culture program at Pittsburgh International Airport,” said Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis. “Sense of place is important and we’re looking forward to our latest addition next to Franco and George from our partners at the Heinz History Center.”

Born as Elizabeth Jane Cochran near present-day Burrell Township in Armstrong County in 1864, she began her journalistic career while still in her teens, taking a job writing for the former Pittsburgh Dispatch. She did what many female journalists did in those days by taking a nom de plume, in this case “Nellie Bly.”

Bly temporarily retired from journalism in 1895 but returned during World War I to become one of America’s first female war correspondents.

“Pittsburgher Nellie Bly was the world’s greatest traveler who made history as an innovative journalist and staunch advocate for women’s rights,” said Heinz History Center President and CEO Andy Masich. “It’s fitting that we’ll honor her legacy with a new lifelike figure where millions of travelers can learn her story.”

Bly’s figure is expected to be installed in the airport’s airside terminal later in March.