nellie bly (elizabeth jane cochrane seaman, b. 1864 - d. 1922)
Born in 1864 as Elizabeth Jane Cochrane Seaman, this author "became" Nellie Bly (taken from a popular song of the day) when her first big sensational tabloid newspaper piece was printed. Bly turned into one of the leading "undercover" journalists of her day--sneaking into mental hospitals and sweatshops and exposing the injustices there from the inside out.