Dorothea Dix
“In a world where there is so much to be done, I felt strongly impressed that there must be something for me to do.”

Facts in brief

Birth Hampton, Maine on April 4, 1802
Died July 17, 1878

The reason I picked Dorothea Dix is because she was assigned to me.

Her full name was Dorothea Lynde Dix. She worked to improve the institutional treatment of the mentally ill. She was brought up by her wealthy grandmother. Her grandmother wanted her top be a socialite. Dorothea instead began to teach and wrote many books. In 1820, when she was a teenager, she opened a school for girls in Worcester, Massachusetts.

By the time she was thirty something, Dorothea became very sick. Her grandmother sent her to England to get well. In England she met Samuel Tuke, the man who changed her life. He was the person who showed her what an institution for the mentally ill should be like. After that trip, she spent her whole life trying to make life for the mentally ill and handicapped better. She fought for the causes of prison inmates and the poor. Special hospitals were built in Canada, Europe, Japan, and 15 states because of her work.

Dorothea tried for 10 years to get a Federal Bill passed to give aid to people who needed mental care. Famous American men like Horace Mann, Samuel Gridley Howe, Charles Sumner, and John Greenleif Whittier assisted her. She became known as a philanthropist because of her kindness and concern for others. She became Superintendent of Nurses for the Union helping the army during the Civil War.

Bibliography

  • http://www.civilwarhome.com/dixbio.htm
  • http://njtimes.rutgers.edu/dix.htmBY Marc Mappen
  • http://womenshistory.about.com/homework/womenshistory/library/qu/blqudix.htm
    Created by Kenny P.
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