PITTSBURGH, PA (Newsradio 1020 KDKA) - In honor of National Women's History Month and the 100-year anniversary of women's suffrage, a figure of Nellie Bly will be installed at the Pittsburgh International Airport.
The figure will be placed in the airport in a partnership between the Senator John Heinz History Center and Allegheny County Airport Authority.
Nellie Bly will be the third person to have a dedicated figure in the airport, George Washington and Franco Harris are already there.
"Pittsburgher Nellie Bly was the world's greatest traveler who made history as an innovative journalist and staunch advocate for women's rights," said Senator John 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 was a famed journalist and advocate for women's rights.
She was born as Elizabeth Jane Cochran in Armstrong County but took the pseudonym "Nellie Bly" during her time working at the Pittsburgh Dispatch.
Bly came to prominence while working for New York World.
She famously went undercover to investigate Blackwell's Island Insane asylum and traveled the world in 72 days (in a race against Jules Verne's popular book "Around the World in Eighty Days").
Bly took a hiatus from journalism in the late 1800s but returned to become one of America's first female war correspondents during World War I.
The figure is expected to be added to the Airside Terminal and will be installed later in March.
"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.
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