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Birth
Dorothea Dix was born in Hampden, Maine. She was the oldest of three, with two younger brothers. -
Her Grandfather's Death
Dorothea Dix had a very unsteady, empty childhood. Her mother suffered from mental issues, and her father was though to be an alchoholic. She could escpape from hard times with her grandfather, Elijah Dix, who helped create joyful memories. However, these memories ended when he died. There was debate on how he died, whether it was murder, or natural cause. This make her childhood even more empty, Dorothea would continue living with her family, without someone to make enjoyable memories with. -
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Runs away
Aged twelve, Dorothea Dix went to live with her grandmother. Even though she was strict, her grandmother offered her a better life, by educating Dorothea. -
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Starts to teach children
At the age of fourteen, Dorothea Dix opens a school. There she taught small children, and soon it was known that she was a strict teacher, but still capable. This was the beginning of her career as a teacher. -
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Opened a school
Dix opened a more professional school in Boston, teaching older children. The school was mainly for poorer children who couldn't afford education. This school was named "The Hope". However , her health broke down aroung 1824 and she retired from teaching. -
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Writes children books and stories
Because the illness left Dix unable to teach, she started writing children's books. These weren't really for entertainment, but for school textbooks. Even an illness woulnd't stop her. -
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Opens a school for girls
Recovered from her illnes and still wanting to educate people, she once again opened a school, this time for girls. She had to close the school and retire from teaching when her health broke down in 1836. -
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Has Major Health Issues
A previous disease that had been pestering Dorothea finally got to her in 1836, when her health broke down from a lung condition. Because of this, she had to retire from teaching. If she had continued teaching she might have never become so obsessed with the mentally ill. This long persisting disease eventually passed, but it would still affect her health along the years. It would finally be the cause of her death. -
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Sails to England to Recover
Because of her health collapse, Dorothea sailed to England to rest. There, she met William Rathbone III, who taught her a few new techniques for caring for people. She hadn't been quite so concerned with the mentall ill at the time, but she learned some handy tricks for dealing with them, such as keeping them pre-occupied. She would use these in the future when she finally opened hospitals for the mentally ill. She spent about two years in England before sailing back to America. -
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Discovers the condition of the mentally ill
After volunteering at East Cambridge Jail, she discovers that some of the inmates at the jail were there only because they were diagnosed with a mental disease. They were being treated the same as prisoner just because of a disease. This discovery sparked Dix's interest in other jailhouse conditions over the next years. She then traveled all over trying to figure out what other jailhouse and almhouse conditions were like. She would become occupied with this for the next forty years. -
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Travels Around Europe
After her discovery of the treatment of the mentally ill, Dorothea traveled around Europe, learning about other almhouse conditions. Over three years she covered about 10,000 miles, and her discoveries shocked her. Even in almhouses the mentally ill were chained to walls, not just in prisons. -
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Builds More Hospitals
After her success with the legislature, Dorothea continued speaking out about the mentally insane treatment in fifteen states, and even Canada. Because of her speaking, 32 institutions for the mentally ill were built in the U.S. When no more institutions needed to be built, she worked on improving the condition of existing hospitals. -
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Confronts the Legislature
After thouroghly investigating other jailhouse and almhouse conditions, Dix finally confronts the State Legislature with her findings. She managed to persuade some of the men into allowing the state hospital to expand, allowing the mentally insane to be treated. -
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Number of mental hospitals increases
Due to Dix's work, the number of mental houses increased from around 13 to over 123. Of course, not all of them were created solely because of her, but she certainly influenced the creation of a lot of them. -
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Dix Hill
After all of her work for the mentally ill, Dix finally opened her own hostpital. The construction of the hospital lasted about three years, and when it was finished it could house about 270 patients. All of her efforts to help the mentally ill would be shown through this hospital. It was named after her grandfather, Elijah Dix. The hospital would grow to treat many people who needed mental help. Later it was renamed Dorothea Dix Hospital -
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Patients start coming to Dix Hill
The first patient for the Dix Hill hospital came in Februrary of 1856, who suffered from suicidal thoughts. Over the years, the number of patients grew in the hospital, and by the beginning of the Civil War there were about 193 patients in the hospital. As more and more people started learning about this hospital, the number of patients grew. Dix's work was truly helping those in need. -
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The Civil War
During the Civil War, Dorothea became involved with the care of soldiers. She volunteered to organize an Army Nursing Corps. Aged 59, she managed to get medical supplies, manage women volunteering as nurses, and supervise hospitals. Although she was thought as very strict as the leader, she gathered more than 3000 women to serve. Women were recognized as having a role in medicine. -
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Retires into a hospital
At the age of 80, Dix gives up traveling, and goes to live in a mental hospital in Trenton, New Jersey. She finally gave in to old age, and partial lung disease. This was a hospital that she had previously helped to form. Dorothea would no longer be able to help the mentally insane. She stayed at this hospital for five years, before she passed away.
This might have been the hospital she retired in. -
Death
Dorothea dix died in Trenton, New Jersey, in one of the hospitals she had helped create. A previous lung illness that she had been fighting finally got to her. It is unsure whether she died on July 17, or July 18. -
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National Women's Hall of Fame
Her efforts to help the mentally insane were recognized in 1979 when Dorothea Dix became part of the National Women's Hall of Fame.Although Dorothea was long dead, she would still be remembered for her work.
