DOROTHEA DIX

Gabby Zibell

Dorothea Dix

She was born on April 4, 1802 in Maine Died July 17, 1887 in Trenton, New Jersey At the age of 15 she opened “a little dame

school.” She ran and taught at this school for three years.

Her dream was to be a teacher but when the stress became too much she decided to go to Europe to rest.

When she was is Europe she helped clean up prisons and helped the mentally ill

Accomplishments

She was the most effective advocate of humanitarian reform in American mental institutions, during the nineteenth century.

From 1824 to 1829 she published five books.

During the Civil War she was an army nurse.

She has her own stamp with her picture on it. It was made September 23, 1993.

Accomplishments

She investigated state of Massachusetts and received funds for Worcester State Hospital

She worked for better living conditions in jails and poorhouses

Dorothea Dix founded 32 mental hospitals, 15 schools, 1 school for blind

She assisted in founding hospitals and libraries

Superintendent of Union Army Nurses in Civil War

Awards and Honors

She got an award for $6,500. She got scholarships so she could go to

school to be a teacher. Millions of people have read her books.

The Civil War

During the Civil War she worked as the Superintendent of Nurses

She finally retired from public service when she was 79 and died on July 18, 1887.

at age 59 she offered her services to the Union Army. Although Dix was not formally trained as a nurse, her tenacity and exceptional organizational skills impressed the secretary of war, Simon Cameron, who appointed her as the superintendent of Union Army Nurses.

Before the civil war, army nursing duties were done by ambulatory male nurses. Dix convinced the skeptical military officials that women could ... do the job perfectly well and recruited 2000 women into the army.

The Civil War

The army nursing care markedly improved under her supervision.

She took good care of the nurses who worked in the harsh environment, and even went to the extent of obtaining health care supplies from private agencies when the government was not willing to provide them.

Sources

Bumb, Jenn. "Dorothea Dix." Webster University. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 May 2011. <http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/dorotheadix.html>.

"DOROTHEA DIX." DOROTHEA DIX. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 May 2011. <http://lbbaby210.tripod.com/>.

Reddi, Vasantha, PhD, and MHES. "Biography of Dorothea Lynde Dix." The Center for Nursing Advocacy. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 May 2011. <http://www.nursingadvocacy.org/press/pioneers/dix.html>.