Dorothea Lynde Dix

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Dorothea Lynde Dix

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Dorothea Lynde Dix 1802-87, American social reformer, pioneer in the movement for humane treatment of the insane, b. Hampden, Maine. For many years she ran a school in Boston. In 1841 she visited a jail in East Cambridge, Mass., and was shocked at conditions there, especially the indiscriminate mixing of criminals and the insane. After inspecting other Massachusetts institutions, she wrote (1842) a famous memorandum to the state legislature. Her crusade resulted in the founding of state hospitals for the insane in many states, and her influence was felt in Canada and Europe. Dix also did notable work in penology. During the Civil War she was superintendent of women war nurses.

Bibliography: See H. E. Marshall, Dorothea Dix: Forgotten Samaritan (1937, repr. 1967); S. C. Beach, Daughters of the Puritans (1967); F. Tiffany, Life of Dorothea Lynde Dix (repr. 1971); D. C. Wilson, Stranger and Traveler: The Story of Dorothea Dix, American Reformer (1975); D. Gallaher, Voice for the Mad (1995).

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Dix, Dorothea Lynde

The Oxford Companion to American Literature | 1995 | | © The Oxford Companion to American Literature 1995, originally published by Oxford University Press 1995. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Dix, Dorothea Lynde (1802–87),Massachusetts teacher, pioneer in American prison reforms and the creation of almshouses and insane asylums. Her study of institutional conditions resulted in a Memorial to the Legislature of Massachusetts (1843). She was superintendent of women nurses during the Civil War.

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James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Dix, Dorothea Lynde." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. Oxford University Press. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. 30 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Dix, Dorothea Lynde." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. Oxford University Press. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. (November 30, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-DixDorotheaLynde.html

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Dix, Dorothea Lynde." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. Oxford University Press. 1995. Retrieved November 30, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-DixDorotheaLynde.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

Free Article Dorothea Lynde Dix; Advocate and crusader for the mentally ill.(LOCAL NEWS)
Newspaper article from: Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, MA); 4/5/2009
Free Article Dorothea Dix: New England Reformer.(Review)(Brief Article)
Magazine article from: The Historian; 3/22/2000

Related articles from newspapers, magazines, and more

Dorothea Lynde Dix; Advocate and crusader for the mentally ill.(LOCAL NEWS)
Newspaper article from: Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, MA); 4/5/2009; 700+ words ; ...enduring fame Vital statistics Dorothea Lynde Dix was born April 4, 1802, in Hampden...Legislature, quoted in "Dorothea Dix: New England Reformer," by...PHOTO CUTLINE: This portrait of Dorothea Lynde Dix, by Susan Murray Stokes, hangs...
Dorothea Dix: New England Reformer.(Review)(Brief Article)
Magazine article from: The Historian; 3/22/2000; ; 700+ words ; Dorothea Dix: New England Reformer. By Thomas J. Brown. (Cambridge and London...422, $35.00.) Since Francis Tiffany's authorized Life of Dorothea Lynde Dix appeared in 1891, Dix's story has been retold literally dozens of...
Remembering Dorothea "Dragon" Dix - Nineteenth Century Mental Health Reformer
Magazine article from: Business Renaissance Quarterly; 12/1/2008; ; 700+ words ; ...in Gladstone, Queensland for their kind comments and support. Remembering Dorothea "Dragon" Dix - Nineteenth Century Mental Health Reformer Dorothea Lynde Dix (born in Maine on 4th April 1802) was one of the most influential social reformers...
Dix's war to save the wounded in hospitals.(SATURDAY)(THE CIVIL WAR)
Newspaper article from: The Washington Times; 4/19/2003; 700+ words ; ...need. Unfazed and unyielding, Dorothea Lynde Dix undoubtedly was such a champion...The ill health that had plagued Dix all her life brought it to an...working here. CAPTION(S): Dorothea Lynde Dix was an activist for the poor and...
MAKING HISTORY HER STORY
Newspaper article from: The Record (Bergen County, NJ); 7/8/1992; ; 700+ words ; ...their attention when it came to Dorothea Lynde Dix, the boarding school teacher...really turned on about Dorothea Dix's story," she said. The result...Breaking the Chains: The Crusade of Dorothea Lynde Dix." The book, recently published...
Saint Elsewhere; The Singular View From Our Saint Es
Newspaper article from: The Washington Post; 11/13/1987; ; 700+ words ; ...remarkable Massachusetts reformer Dorothea Lynde Dix, having spurned a fiance who wanted...In 1852, Congress surrendered to Dix and her footsoldiers in their battle...and navy of the United States." Dix and her so-called "moral" healers...
WOMEN'S LIVES CHANGING COURSE THROUGH COLLEGE
Newspaper article from: The Boston Globe; 12/1/2002; ; 700+ words ; ...Champagne, associate director of the Dix Scholars office of admissions at...students in a program named after Dorothea Lynde Dix, a 19th-century social activist...ago. The total enrollment in the Dix program is 250. And like their peers...
Not your 20-something student; Commuter campuses and flexible classes lure older adults.
Newspaper article from: The Boston Herald; 8/14/1999; ; 700+ words ; ...can find assistance through special programs like the Dorothea Lynde Dix Scholars program at Simmons College, established to...says are especially important. Simmons' "Writing for Dix Scholars" course is a creative writing and memoir class...
TRENTON PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL CELEBRATES 160TH ANNIVERSARY
News Wire article from: US Fed News Service, Including US State News; 5/19/2008; 571 words ; ...hospital in the state, opened May 15, 1848 after advocate Dorothea Lynde Dix convinced the state Legislature that people with mental...hospitals still abide by the principles advocated by Miss Dix and by the sentiment of her words that, 'Man is not...

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