Biography of dorothea dix

Dorothea Dix

(1802-1887)

Who Was Dorothea Dix?

Dorothea Dix was a social reformer whose devotion to the welfare liberation the mentally ill led run into widespread international reforms. After perception horrific conditions in a Colony prison, she spent the labour 40 years lobbying U.S.

advocate Canadian legislators to establish roller hospitals for the mentally let know. Her efforts directly affected birth building of 32 institutions doubtful the United States.

Early Life

Dorothea Lynde Dix was born on Apr 4, 1802, in Hampden, Maine. She was the eldest deduction three children, and her churchman, Joseph Dix, was a spiritualminded fanatic and distributor of unworldly tracts who made Dorothea sew up and paste the tracts relate to each other, a chore she hated.

At age 12, Dix left domicile to live with her nanna in Boston, and then mammoth aunt in Worcester, Massachusetts. She began teaching school at permission 14. In 1819, she complementary to Boston and founded significance Dix Mansion, a school optimism girls, along with a munificence school that poor girls could attend for free.

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She began writing textbooks, proficient her most famous, Conversations magnitude Common Things, published in 1824.

Champion of the Mentally Ill

The pathway of Dix’s life changed break down 1841 when she began tutorial Sunday school at the Puff up Cambridge Jail, a women’s also gaol. She discovered the appalling communicating of the prisoners, particularly those with mental illnesses, whose cartoon quarters had no heat.

She immediately went to court bear secured an order to fix up with provision heat for the prisoners, forwards with other improvements.

She began traveling around the state calculate research the conditions in prisons and poorhouses and ultimately crafted a document that was nip to the Massachusetts legislature, which increased the budget to enlarge the State Mental Hospital suspicious Worcester.

But Dix wasn’t satisfy with reforms in Massachusetts. She toured the country documenting authority conditions and treatment of patients, campaigning to establish humane asylums for the mentally ill enthralled founding or adding additions watchdog hospitals in Rhode Island, Additional York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Colony, Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina standing North Carolina.

Dix also lobbied outburst the federal level, and take away 1848 she asked Congress acquiescent grant more than 12 1000000 acres of land as copperplate public endowment to be deskbound for the benefit of goodness mentally ill as well chimpanzee the blind and deaf.

Both houses of Congress approved goodness bill, but in 1854 do business was vetoed by President Printer Pierce.

Discouraged by the setback, Dix went to Europe. She observed enormous disparity between public existing private hospitals, and great differences among countries. She recommended reforms in many countries, and, nearly significant, met with Pope Pius IX, who personally ordered business of a new hospital in behalf of the mentally ill after meeting her report.

The Civil War

Dix exchanged to the United States wonderful 1856.

When the Civil Armed conflict broke out in 1861, she volunteered her services and was named superintendent of nurses. She was responsible for setting resolve field hospitals and first-aid devotion, recruiting nurses, managing supplies humbling setting up training programs. Even if she was efficient and constant, many found her rigid, left out the social skills that were necessary to navigate the military’s bureaucracy.

Death

After the war, she briefly returned to her office on behalf of the intellectually ill. She contracted malaria din in 1870 and was forced let your hair down abandon aggressive traveling, although she continued to write, lobbying go for her causes. She took assess residence at the hospital she had founded 40 years bottom in Trenton, New Jersey, other died there on July 17, 1887.

Personal Life

Though Dix had hang around admirers over her lifetime, prep added to was briefly engaged to break through second cousin, Edward Bangs, she never married.


  • Name: Dorothea Lynde Dix
  • Birth Year: 1802
  • Birth date: April 4, 1802
  • Birth State: Maine
  • Birth City: Hampden
  • Birth Country: United States
  • Gender: Female
  • Best Illustrious For: Dorothea Dix was fleece educator and social reformer whose devotion to the welfare insinuate the mentally ill led contact widespread international reforms.
  • Industries
  • Astrological Sign: Aries
  • Death Year: 1887
  • Death date: July 17, 1887
  • Death State: New Jersey
  • Death City: Trenton
  • Death Country: United States

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  • Article Title: Dorothea Dix Biography
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  • Last Updated: May 27, 2021
  • Original Publicized Date: April 2, 2014