Dorothea dix biography summary printable

Dorothea Lynde Dix April 4, — July 17, was an American advocate on behalf of the indigent mentally ill who, through a vigorous and sustained program of lobbying state legislatures and the United States Congress , created the first generation of American mental asylums. Born in the town of Hampden, Maine , she grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts , among her parents' relatives.

Elijah Dix [ 4 ] in Boston to get away from her alcoholic parents and abusive father. She began to teach in a school all for girls in Worcester, Massachusetts at fourteen years old and had developed her own curriculum for her class, in which she emphasized ethical living and the natural sciences. Soon afterward she also began teaching poor and neglected children out of the barn of her grandmother's house, but she suffered poor health.

Dorothea dix fun facts

Her Conversations on Common Things reached its sixtieth edition by , [ 7 ] and was reprinted 60 times and written in the style of a conversation between mother and daughter. Although raised Catholic and later directed to Congregationalism , Dix became a Unitarian. It was while working with his family that Dix traveled to St. Croix , where she first witnessed slavery at first hand, though her experience did not dispose her sympathies toward abolitionism.

While she was there she met British social reformers who inspired her. These reformers included Elizabeth Fry , Samuel Tuke and William Rathbone with whom she lived during the duration of her trip in Europe. During her trip in Europe and her stay with the Rathbone family, Dorothea's grandmother died and left her a "sizable estate, along with her royalties" which allowed her to live comfortably for the remainder of her life.